The Trials of Petra Ral
by Feraligreater328
Summary: My name is Petra Ral. I am many things: a soldier, a survivor, a friend, and a daughter. I've been through a lot in my short life and I wanted to log everything that I've done. I would appreciate if you would pass judgement on me fairly. Take into account the good and the bad times. And if you see Levi...tell him I'm thinking of him.
1. Prelude Chapter 1

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody._

_Also, a HUGE thanks to my friend RANDOM-drawer357 for this story's cover art. This person saw a request from someone they had never met before to use their art and they said yes. That really means a lot to me. If you have the time you should check out their other art work at DeviantArt. Thanks buddy!_

Prelude Chapter: Petra Ral; Part 1

"_Gyahhhhhhhhhhhhhh_"

"Petra, look out!"

***CRUNCH***

That was the sound of me being crushed like a bug. A bug under the foot of a monster. My name is Petra Ral. I am a Lieutenant in the Survey Corp, the section of the human military that dares foray out into the Titan infested lands outside of the Walls. You may ask yourself exactly how I ended up like this and where I am now; well, that's a long story. I suppose you don't know that much about me, so I'll start by giving you my back-story.

As I said, my name is Petra Ral. I am 20-years old and I was born in the Karanese District to James and Abigail Ral. I had a happy childhood, maybe Dad sheltered me a bit too much, but I was happy. I originally wanted to grow up to be a school teacher. Not like teaching older children, I wanted to teach the small ones. Then, came the dark day when Wall Maria fell. I couldn't believe something like that could happen and I felt bad, so I went with my parents to help out with feeding and caring for the refugees. I met a lot of poor kids that day: a boy who wouldn't stop yelling about how much he wanted to kill the Titans and his two companions, an intense looking kid and his sweaty friend, and this one girl with quite possibly the iciest stare I've ever seen. It broke my heart to see these kids, unable to find their families or, even worse, having watched their families die. I wanted to do something, but I didn't know what. I was 14, about to turn 15, and in my final year of school (I skipped a couple of grades). I got my answer about a two weeks before my fifteenth birthday. I walked into class and my teacher announced that we would be hearing a presentation from a "very special guest." He walked in as we were sitting down. He was tall, had a strong jaw (well to be honest, he had a strong everything but his jaw stood out), and his blonde hair was neatly combed into place. He was joined by a taller man with a rather large nose and a shorter woman with wispy platinum blonde hair. He stood before us and, in a voice that almost seemed bottomless, he said:

"Greetings, my name is Erwin Smith, I am the newest Commander of the Survey Corp. To my left is Captain Mike Zacharius. To my right is Lieutenant Tia Nanaba. We have come here today to ask you young people for help. As you know, the Titans have overcome Wall Maria and nearly 20 percent of the human race has been wiped out. I have come here to ask you, personally, to please enlist! We need as many warm bodies as possible to help us thrust ourselves into what was once Wall Maria and take it back for humanity. Now, I will be honest, many of you who end up joining the Survey Corp will die, assuming any of you join with more enticing options such as the Military Police Brigade and the Garrison…"

Captain Zacharius tapped Commander Smith on the shoulder and whispered something into his ear.

"I have just been informed by Captain Zacharius that my speech might actually be scaring you into not wanting to join the Scouts. To this I say GOOD! I would like to make one thing perfectly clear, I do not need suicidal fools on my team! I require those with enough sense to fear the Titans, but with enough courage to face them! So I ask you once more, ENLIST! JOIN THE SURVEY CORP AND TOGETHER WE SHALL OVERCOME THE APOCALYPSE THAT HAS SHOWN ITSELF ON OUR DOORSTEP! TOGETHER WE SHALL OVERCOME! Tomorrow, we of the Survey Corp will be heading out on what will be our 27th Expedition, and we shall come back with news of victory against the Titans! And when we do, I expect to see many familiar faces ready to enlist. Until then, farewell!"

The Commander took his leave and, after leaving behind the pamphlets that they had brought with them, so did his two associates. I sat there and listened to my fellow classmates:

"Jeez, that guy was loud!"

"Join the Scouts, yeah right…"

"He must be insane to want to face those monsters, right Petra?"

"Petra?"

"PETRA!"

I turned and looked at my friend, Rico Brzenska (she was 18 at the time), "You okay, Petra? You're just staring into space…" I replied, "I'm fine Rico, just…thinking…" then the teacher marched up to his desk and class began. I walked home alone that day, Rico had an appointment with her optometrist, and I kept thinking about what that man, Erwin Smith, had said. I wondered if maybe I could do more good if I joined the Military. I had read through the pamphlet about ten times and it sounded easy enough to join. But, of course, I couldn't do that. I would kill my Dad if he thought I would ever consider something that dangerous. So I decided to forget about the entire thing and just walked home. However, my thoughts on joining didn't die; they were stirred up again twelve days later. The bells were ringing, signifying the return of the Scouts, me and my mother were at the market at the time, buying the supplies to make my birthday cake. We ran to join the crowd, I wanted to see the Scouts stride back in as the heroes I knew they were: I was unpleasantly surprised. Out of the 250 Scouts that left to go on the 27th Expedition, only fifty-nine returned. What's worse, only five people were brave enough to take the "Walk of Shame." Commander Smith led them; he was followed by a shorter man with intensely angry eyes, a reddish-brown haired bespectacled woman, and the two officers who came to my school, Zacharius and Nanaba. The walk wasn't pleasant, people yelled at and jeered them, they were mocked and prodded with every insult you could imagine, but they marched on stoic and unfaltering. Then, someone threw a glass bottle at the bespectacled woman's head. It knocked her to the ground and knocked off her glasses and, as she reached for them, a particularly scummy looking man stepped on them. "Oh don't worry; you can use all of my tax money that you assholes waste to buy new ones!" He proceeded to kick dirt in her face. The shorter one almost drew his swords on the guy, but Commander Smith stopped him. Lieutenant Nanaba picked her up, put a small handkerchief to the woman's now bleeding head, and whispered, "Come on, Hange. Let's get you to a doctor." The crowd escalated from there, they proceeded to throw garbage and rotten food at them. The Scouts, the heroes of the Walls, ran back to their base with filth on their backs and tears in their eyes (Note: This incident was what later became known as "The Incident", the same incident that made the Survey Corp leaders as close as they were).

Later that night, we celebrated my 15th Birthday, it was nothing big. My mother made me a cake with lots of fresh fruit on it and my Dad presented to me a nicely made blue tweed dress. I was happy, but not as happy as I could've been. All I could picture was that woman, with tears streaming down her face. My mother lit the candles on my cake and she and my Dad sang Happy Birthday to me. I closed my eyes and blew out the candles and I made a wish, "I wish I could join the Scouts, I wish I could make a difference." About a month later, I graduated. I was the top student of my class and I got to make a short speech. I gathered up my courage, got up on the podium, and said:

"I dream of a future where I can make a difference. I originally thought I could do this by becoming a teacher, by molding the minds of the young, but I see now that that is not enough. The only way to help secure the future of humanity is to be proactive in doing so which is why, today, I pledge to join the Scouts! I will go beyond the Walls and help to solve humanities problems with my own two hands!"

The crowd was silent. I looked around; my mother, my father, Rico, they all looked at me as if I had just torn of my clothes and tried to eat somebody. It was a mixture of quiet shock and intense horror. The walk home was no less awkward. My father couldn't look at me and my mother couldn't stop shooting me angry looks. We got home and as soon as my father closed the door, I got an earful "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND?!" my mother screamed at me. "JOIN THE SCOUTS? HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE?!" my mother stormed off to fetch tissue to wipe her eyes. My father finally spoke to me, "Petra? Sweetie? Why? Why would you want to join the Scouts? I love you sweetheart; I don't want you to die in some monsters teeth." I responded, "Dad, I love you, but please hear me out. I need to do something, I want to help people and I feel like this might be the best way to do it…" my mother walked back in, "…and if you two love me, you'll trust me to make my own decisions!" My dad stood there, in silence, with his head bowed he walked towards me and hugged me and said, "Petra, baby, I'm terrified…but I trust you. If you think you can make a difference as a Scout, then I believe in you." My mother walked up and kissed my forehead, "I guess I believe in you too." The next day, my mother and father bought me a ticket on the boat to Trost, which was where the Military Sign-Ups were being held that year, I hugged them both good-bye and got on board. When I got on board, to my surprise, Rico was there as well. She walked up to me and said, "I want to make a difference too, in my own way. I'm going to join the Garrison and help to guard the Walls, just in case the Colossal Titan shows up again." Rico grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard. I squeezed right back. And, together, we sailed towards our future.

_AUTHORS NOTE: This my first chapter of the prelude to my story. I hope you like it. Please comment and point out if I got any details wrong. I value your opinions. Thank you for reading._


	2. Prelude Chapter 2

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral: Prelude

Prelude Chapter: Petra Ral; Part 2

We arrived in Trost two days later. We arrived at the entrance gate to the boot camp and were met by two men. One was a rather large man with a reddish-brown moustache and the other was an intense older man. His eyes were sunken in and he just stared at us. We both did the appropriate paperwork and were given our uniforms. Before we left, we were shown the salute: right fist over our hearts, left arm behind our backs. Then we went to meet our fellow trainees. That was where I met them, my future Special Operations Squad comrades: Gunther Schultz of Largo Village, Eld Jinn of Trost District, and Oluo Bozado of Iamba Village. They behaved back then much in the same way they behave now; Gunther was quiet and serious, Eld was laid-back and confident, and Oluo was…Oluo. We were all called to the main field we were given uniform inspection by the mustachioed man, Kitts Woerman, he acted tough but you could tell, he was more brittle than a twig. After he got done attempting to intimidate us came the real intimidation; Intimidation in the form of Keith Shadis. Drill Sergeant Keith Shadis, he was the Commander of the Survey Corp before Erwin Smith, he had a face like dry leather and a scowl that would make a Titan think twice. He came up to us a boomed at the top of his voice, "WHAT KIND OF SORRY SHIT AM I LOOKING AT?" PLEASE, SOMEONE TELL ME THAT THE REAL CADETS ARE HIDING IN THE BARRACKS!" Twelve people visibly cowered when he yelled; he went up to them, snatched off their training ODM Gear and sent them on their way. Then he began interviewing the rest of us, "CADET, WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHY THE HELL ARE YOU HERE?!"

"Sir, I am Gunther Schultz of Largo, I come here to become a soldier in order to truly earn the respect of my grandfather and my late father!" "SCHULTZ, AY? I KNEW YOUR FATHER; HE DIED SCREAMING FOR HIS LIFE. I SURE AS HELL HOPE YOU DIDN'T COME HERE TO END UP LIKE HIM!"

"Sir, I am Eld Jinn of Trost, I'm here because chicks dig a man in uniform…am I right? Just kidding, I want to be a soldier so that I can help save humanity from the Titans." Eld flashed a cheesy, overconfident smile. Drill Sergeant Shadis kicked Eld in…a sensitive area and moved on.

"Sir, I am Oluo Bozado, I'm here because I have four little brothers and two little sisters at home and I want to give them something to look up to!" "OH, YOU'RE HERE TO BE THE BIG MAN ARE YOU?! PAH, HOW CAN A PERSON SO SMALL EXPECT TO BE SO BIG?!" He spat on Oluo's shoe and moved on.

"Sir, I am Rico Brzenska, I came here to be a Garrison Soldier…because a friend inspired me to be something…" Rico glanced over at me. "YOU WANNA BE SOMETHING AND YET YOU CHOOSE TO JOIN THOSE LAZY BASTARDS IN THE GARRISON?!" Rico looked him in the eye, "Then I guess…I'll just have to work to change that, won't I?" Shadis got right in her face, "…then you better be tough, cuz change ain't easy…"

Then he came to me, "S-sir, I am P-P-Petra R-Ral, and, although you terrify me, I want to say that I'm here to join the Scout s-so that I can help make a d-difference…SIR!" He just looked at me, shook his head, and moved on.

Eventually, the verbal slaughter was over. Eighteen more Cadets were sent packing and we were allowed to go to our barracks. Except Eld, he went to the infirmary to get some ice. The rest of the day was pretty normal; we ate, we rested, we practiced for the staying upright test that we would soon be facing, and, eventually, we laid down for bed. I was rested and comfortable and about to fall asleep when, suddenly, a hand clamped over my mouth. My hands were pulled behind my back and lashed and I was firmly gagged with a rag. Then I was blindfolded, placed into a wagon, and taken away. The trip took about twenty minutes, I tried to free myself but I was too tightly bound. The rag was too thick to bite through. The wagon came to a sudden halt and I felt two gigantic arms grab onto me and tossed me to my knees on the ground. Then I heard three other people get thrown down next to me. Someone reached behind my head and untied the knot holding the rag in place and then removed it. Then my hands were cut free. I reached up and removed my blindfold and came face to face with Erwin Smith. I looked over and saw Gunther, Eld, and Oluo. I looked behind me and saw four separate wagons. Erwin looked us over and then began:

"Hello, I am…" "ERWIN SMITH!" I blurted out. Silence. I could feel my face glowing red and buried it into my knees. He continued, "Yes, I am Erwin Smith, Leader of the Scouts. My inside source has informed me of the four of you. He says that you display what I am looking for in a soldier. You all seem to be properly afraid, but at the same time sincere in your beliefs. So, although, you have just begun your training I ask you, would you consider joining the Survey Corps?"

Silence, once more. Oluo spoke up first, "Why the hell would I do that? Do I look insane?" Eld followed up, "I agree with Oluo, no doubt that Scouts become the best soldiers…but that's only if they survive." Gunther remained silent. Then Commander Smith looked at me, "What about you?" I stared at the ground. "I…I do want to be a Scout, I want to help regain Wall Maria, for all of the poor people who lost their lives when it was breached. But, at the same time…I feel like I want to throw-up just thinking about facing a Titan" I looked up at him and teared up a little, "My Mom and Dad gave me their support to come here and do this and…I just don't want to die…it would break their hearts." Erwin looked at me, "I respect that. That is the reason I want you four to join the Scouts. You have families you wish to return to, so you're more likely to fight to come back." Everyone got a distressed look on their face, Gunther finally spoke, "So you're LOOKING for people who have something to lose?!" Erwin turned to him, "Yes, the way it used to be, the Survey Corps was made mostly of orphans and degenerates, people whom no one would miss, but I theorize that if more Scouts had people waiting for them to come home, then more Scouts would come home." He half-smiled at us, "Plus I can see it in your eyes, you four were made to kill Titans and the Scouts could give you what you wanted out of being soldiers…", he looked at Gunther "…strength…", he looked at Eld "…admiration…", he looked at Oluo "…the respect of your younger peers…", then he looked at me "…and most of all you would be giving your life to help ensure the survival of humanity." He turned around, "I'm not ordering you one way or another; I'm just giving you something to think about." Erwin twirled his finger around in the air and suddenly I was blindfolded again, my hands weren't tied and I wasn't gagged but I was told to hold still and not do anything regrettable. I was taken back to my barracks, the blindfold was removed, and, after I laid there thinking for a while, I drifted into sleep. The next day our training began, we worked as hard as we could (meanwhile the Scouts went out on seven more Expeditions) and four years later, Oluo, Gunther, Eld, and I donned our Survey Corps capes for the first time. We had officially become Scouts.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	3. Prelude Chapter 3

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral: Prelude

Prelude Chapter: Petra Ral; Part 3

I woke up in my own bed for the first time in four years. I sat up and wiped a small stream of drool from my cheek. I was humid outside so my hair was already frizzing up. I opened my window and watered my flowers, my mom had done a good job taking care of them while I was gone but I could tell that they missed their mommy. I took a long shower, shaved my legs, and properly fixed my hair up. Then I went into my room and put on my crisp new Survey Corps uniform. I buttoned my shirt, laced up my boots and applied my Survey Corps badge to my jacket. I looked at myself in the mirror and beamed. I went downstairs, my dad had prepared the biggest breakfast I had seen since I arrived at boot camp. There were pancakes, bacon, and Chamomile Tea. I sat down and ate, my mom and dad laughed and joked and asked me so many questions about Training. When I was done I grabbed my bag and got ready to depart. My dad stopped my before I left and gave me a thermos of homemade Chicken Soup, it was special to me especially since Chicken was so scarce due to overpopulation. He hugged me and told me how proud he was of what I had become and with one final kiss on the cheek; I left for Survey Corps HQ.

About a half of a day later, I arrived at Castle Brogheim, the current HQ of the Survey Corps. I walked into the main dining hall and met up with Eld, Gunther, and Oluo. Only five people elected to join the Scouts that year. I was soon followed up by the fifth person, Moblit Berner; we all sat down and waited. While we were sitting we talked, we poked fun at Moblit for joining because he had a crush on one of the officers and because he was 13th in ranking from our Trainees Squad (for the record: Eld was 1st, Oluo was 2nd, I was 3rd, Gunther was 5th, and Rico was 9th.) After about an hour, I suddenly felt someone sniffing my head. I looked up and saw Captain Zacharius. As I was about to ask him what he was doing, Lieutenant Nanaba smacked him on the back of the head. She apologized and explained that sniffing people was just one of his dumb quirks. Soon Commander Erwin showed up and following him was Lieutenant-Commander Hange Zoe. She was a nice lady; she greeted each of us with a hug and a barrage of questions. She seemed so excitable and peppy; I wondered how she could behave in such a way after the horrid treatment she had received four years ago. I wondered how they could all behave that way. Commander Erwin told us that there was supposed to be a fifth person to greet us, but he blew us off. I assumed that the fifth officer was the short one that I had seen before. Soon the rest of the lower-ranked Scouts entered the dining hall and welcomed us. Then we got to work Scout Training. We began to learn so many things: how to ride and wrangle horses, how to do more precise ODM Gear maneuvers, and we were taught all about the new formation that Commander Erwin had come up with. Then, about a week later, I met _**him**_. It was at lunch, we had stew prepared by Lieutenant-Commander Hange, she joked that she put Titan meat in it, to this day I wonder whether she was serious or not. Then, I had the most embarrassing moment of my life. I went up to get seconds on the stew (Titan meat or no, Hange Zoe is a great cook!) I turned around too quickly and ran bowl-first into HIM. I ran into my future captain, Levi Ackerman. And I just spilled my lunch all over him, his cravat was ruined by a thick coating of gravy. I looked at him, avoiding eye contact, and said, "I-I-I-I'm sorry…sir…" Luckily, he quickly responded. He looked me in the eye, and then he punched me in the side of the head. I fell to the ground and clutched my ear. He spat on me and walked away. Hange helped me up, "Don't mind him" she said wiping the spit off of my cheek "he's just grumpy that Erwin is making him take the reins of the Special Operations Squad." "It's okay." I responded, "So, who are the unlucky people who get stuck with him leading them?" Later that day Oluo, Eld, Gunther, and I lined up and waited for Captain Levi to come take us on the training mission Commander Erwin assigned us.

The hike into the mountains wasn't fun. I hate the cold and the wet. I didn't think we would be facing snow so I didn't pack anything all that warm to wear. My face was red and there was a little snot dripping from my nose. Oluo laughed at me, feeling smug in his earmuffs and scarf, so when he wasn't looking I stuffed snow down his jacket. Unfortunately, Levi saw me and took away my jacket and made me roll up my sleeves. We had a "simple" task: climb the mountain, "kill" the Titan dummies at the peak, and make it down. I'd like to take the time to point out that "simple" is meant to be sarcastic. The snow was way too deep, it came up to my knees and the wind made it impossible to use ODM Gear. To make matters worse, Oluo was being a jerk, Gunther was being depressing, and Eld was complaining (mostly to himself) about how much he hated the cold, and, of course, there was the matter of Levi hating me. Eventually, after a four-hour trek, we made it to the top and practiced our basic combat maneuvers. The wind was almost non-existent, being we were so high up, so we could use our ODM Gear. We practiced for about two hours before Levi ordered us back down. As we were going down the mountain, however, Oluo tripped. He bit his tongue as he was falling, but he still tried to catch himself by grabbing onto a tree. The tree broke but, despite the wind, Captain Levi and I ODM'd ahead and grabbed him. Unfortunately the broken tree caused a small avalanche. Levi threw Oluo to Eld, but he and I were caught in the avalanche. The rushing snow threw us into a small cave and buried us alive.

About an hour later (I guess?), I woke up. Levi asked me if I was alright. I sat up; there wasn't much clearance in the cave we were trapped in, not even enough to sit up straight. Furthermore, I was unbearably cold, even worse than when the wind was whipping me. I didn't think it could get any worse, and then I looked down. A small tree branch had pierced Levi in his side and he was bleeding rather heavily. I could feel the warm pool creeping up on my fingers. I tried to reach down to tend the wound but he slapped my hand, "It's fine, don't touch it." He removed the stick and clasped his hand over the gash, "Help'll arrive soon, and I'll be fine…shit…" I honestly don't know how much time passed, it felt like days, but I could see Levi slipping. The blood pool was getting bigger and he began mumbling to himself. I tried to get close to the wound to examine it, but then Levi pulled me close and hugged me. I looked at his face and a small tear rolled out, "I'm…so…sorry…Isabel…" he kissed me on the head then he passed out. I started to panic, he was dying, he was bleeding out, and he was freezing to death. I had to cover his wound up. So I improvised. I took off my shirt and wrapped it around his waist, making sure to tie the knot directly over the gash so as to act as a sort of plug for the fountain of blood. And then…I...Uh…urm…I hugged him, it's embarrassing and I'm kind of weirded out to talk about it, but I just pressed my body against his, trying my best to keep he and I warm, and prayed that someone would find us. Then, as my luck would have it, Hange and Oluo were the ones to dig us out. The looks on their faces when they found me half-naked and clutching Levi told me that I wouldn't be living this down. Ever. NEVER EVER. Later that night, around 1:30 am, Levi woke me up. He sat on the edge of my bed and thanked me for saving his life, and then he patted me on the head. We went to the kitchen and he cooked for me (nothing special, it was an omelet). As a thank you for feeding me, I gave him a small, white kerchief to replace the cravat that I had ruined, he didn't smile (he never smiles) but he immediately stuffed it into his shirt. Mine and Levi's relationship really grew after that, and slowly, the five of us became a team, a real team. Then, one day we were all called down from bed even earlier than normal. It was then that Commander Erwin gave us all the news, the 34th Expedition had been green-lighted, and we would be departing into Titan lands in a week.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	4. Prelude Chapter 4

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral: Prelude

Prelude Chapter: Petra Ral; Part 4

I woke up again, in my bed, but this time I didn't feel so rested. I couldn't sleep at all the night before. The thought of my first expedition outside of the Walls, into Titan country, was almost surreal. I had a knot in my stomach (honestly I stress vomited twice); I could barely handle the breakfast Dad had made for me that morning. I got up to leave, but as I was walking out the door my Mom stopped me. "You can't go yet…" she started, then my Dad walked out in his Sunday best, "…we'd like to walk you." The walk to the Gate in Karanese took about twenty minutes from my house; my parents were weirdly silent the entire way. Eventually we arrived just short of the gate, at the staging area Commander Erwin had set up. I found my place, stationed around Captain Levi (I was officially known as a "Vanguard to a Most Valuable Asset"; I assumed they meant Levi as he is "Humanities Strongest Soldier"). I mounted my horse and leaned down to hug my Mom and Dad goodbye, but they weren't there. I glanced over and saw them swarming Captain Levi. I heard bits and pieces of what they were saying, the only clear thing I got, though, was "…please, she's my little girl…" My face turned five different shades of red. Soon enough we began our final stride. I looked around at everyone who came to see us off, I saw a bunch of jaded adults and some bright-eyed kids who thought we were superheroes. Then I heard Commander Erwin yell out:

"OKAY, IT'S TIME! LET THE 34th SCOUTING EXPEDITION COMMENCE! FORWARD!"

We all raced out, all at once. It was so exciting, my adrenaline was pumping, and I felt alive. I barely even heard the Gate slam right behind us. I looked around, the ruins of what was once a thriving city surrounded us, it was so sad. Everything just looked hollow. Then, I looked into the window of a partially destroyed building and saw it, a gigantic eyeball. We only caught each other's gaze for one instant, but in that moment my heart skipped twelve beats. Suddenly, it burst forth from its hiding place, a horrific giant monster, human-like but lacking any genitalia, ready to eat me like a snack. It ran right at me, naked and mindless, almost frothing at the mouth, it nearly grabbed me but I evaded. It was a living nightmare, despite my evasion maneuver; the monster turned on a dime and began its chase once more. I didn't know what to do, I had frozen up and it was right on my tail. Storm (that was my horse's name) was running as fast as she could, but the Titan was gaining on us. I wondered why no one was helping me, and then I looked around. I saw that everyone was being attacked. Three people were already dead and two more were hanging from the mouths of those monsters. All I could hear was people screaming for help (or, in some cases, a quick death), I was dumb-struck, I couldn't do anything, and that monsters fingers were grazing my hair. The fear was capsizing me, but then I thought of my Mom and Dad. I saw my funeral, my family grieving, my Dad falling apart. So with these thoughts buzzing in my head I, blanked out, then I reached down, drew out my blades, steadied my resolve, and initiated my ODM Gear. The hooks of my Gear pierced a nearby building and I flew from my horse. I turned and faced the briefly dumbfounded creature and launched myself at it. I maneuvered around the monster, faking it out, and made it trip over its own feet. Then as it stumbled to get back up, I launched myself at its nape, I sank my blades deep into the base of its neck, and then with one swift motion I killed it. Its horrific form slumped to the ground and instantly began decomposing.

I stood on the monsters back and celebrated, I had just killed my first Titan, I was so happy. Soon, I noticed that I wasn't the only one who had gained a victory: Oluo had killed 3, Eld managed 4, Gunther killed 1 by himself and helped to kill 2 more, and of course the head officers were managing, as well. All together the four of us and the main officers had killed 36 Titans. Along with the victories the others had managed, 42 Titans died and we had barely made it out of the gate. I felt great, I had taken down 2 of those monsters all by myself, and I assisted in killing 8 more. We all gathered up to regroup with one another. There was laughing, cheering, and pats on the back all around. We had finally earned the respect of our older peers. Then, unfortunately, Captain Zacharius asked the most embarrassing question I've ever faced: "What's that weird smell?" I looked all around and saw nothing, and then Hange alerted me to look down. I gazed down at my pants and saw that a steady stream of wet had made it all the way down to my boot: I pissed myself in front of everyone. My face turned bright red and I buried it in my hands. My day got a little better when Captain Zacharius said this: "No, not that, it's…worse…" he sniffed around and came up to Oluo, *sniff* *sniff* "…it's coming from Oluo's ass!" Oluo was so shocked that he accidently bit his tongue trying to explain himself. Looking back, yeah, I did pee my pants, but at least I didn't shit myself. Oluo and I had to march down to the nearest river and clean out our pants and underwear, all while being accompanied and mocked by the rest of our squad (Eld and Gunther, God rest their souls, were being real jerks!) I went down stream a bit, partly because I didn't want any of my contemporaries to see my private parts while my pants and underwear were drying partly because I didn't want anyone to see my crying out of embarrassment, when I heard a rustle. I turned around and out of the trees came Hange and Levi. I scrambled to cover up, using a combo of my shirt and my hands to censor myself. Levi came up to me, wiped a stray tear from my cheek, gave me a pat on the back and told me, "Don't be embarrassed, everyone reacts to those monsters in different ways. You have nothing to be worried about, now shape the hell up and let's get going. We have a lot of ground to cover before nightfall." Hange walked up to me, put something in my hand, and then winked and walked away. I unclenched my fist around the object; it was a pair of panties and a note:

"Spare Underwear, Never Leave Home Without Them!

Hange

P.S. I pissed myself the first time too! ;)"

I rejoined with everyone after my pants dried and we resumed formation, the Expedition was pretty straightforward after that. When went a little farther and killed a few more Titans and then we returned home. Hange was really upset because she lost one of the members of her squad (poor Ilse, we couldn't find her corpse no matter how hard we looked, so we just assumed that she was eaten). When we got into the gate and after the post-Expedition review, I found my Dad. He met me with open arms and, literally, didn't stop hugging me for an hour. We went through what seemed like a hundred more expeditions (all in all it was about 8) Four months later we went on the 47th Expedition. We had about 25 new recruits with us. This Expedition lasted about a week. We left the Walls, killed some Titans, scavenged through a couple of abandoned cities, killed more Titans, mapped out the Forest of Giant Trees, Oluo pissed off Hange (a lot!), we finally found Ilse's Corpse being guarded by a Titan, we retrieved Ilse's corpse and a mysterious notebook that Hange didn't put down the entire way back, we captured eight Titans for Hange to experiment on, and eventually we returned home. Our homecoming wasn't so warm, we were mocked and jabbed (we had lost 14 of the 25 new recruits), I buried my face in my hands to hide the fact that I was crying, as I got called everything they could think to call me _("Hey, look at that stupid bitch crying! What's wrong sweetheart? Realize how pointless this all is?")_ Commander Erwin said that he had some things to work out with the Government at the capitol, so it would be about a year before we went on another Expedition. Little did I know that this next year would well and truly be the last time I ever felt perfectly at peace.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	5. Prelude Chapter 5

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral: Prelude

Prelude Chapter: Petra Ral; Part 5

Well, Commander Erwin was right. All Survey Corps activities were put on hold for a year. The Government was rifling through the entirety of everything that the Scouts were doing with a fine-toothed comb. They seized all of Hange's research (except Ilse's Journal which she kept concealed somewhere on her body…I don't know where but they didn't find it when they gave her a full cavity search) and killed her new pets, they did full psych reviews on everyone, and they disbanded the Special Operations Squad (they even took our badges that allow inter-city ODM use). For almost an entire year, I had nothing to do but sit at home or go to the boot camp and watch the trainees work. It went on like this until, one day; I went out to the market to buy our dinner for the night (I bought salmon and fresh potatoes); when I got back the mail had arrived. My father handed me a letter as I handed him the groceries. I went upstairs and sat it down on my nightstand. It felt pretty heavy so I decided I would read it later. I went down and helped my mom prepare dinner, it took about 20 minutes. The three of us sat down and ate, we talked and laughed. I listened to them talk about their respective days, occasionally I would nod, but I didn't do much else. After dinner, I went up to my room. I grabbed my pajamas, the letter, my towel, and the lavender bubble bath that mom got me for Christmas, and I went to take a bath. I made sure that the water was hot, not scalding but nice and warm, and, after adding the bubble bath, I got in and relaxed. I lay in the tub for close to an hour, I might have actually fallen asleep for a bit, but eventually I got around to reading the letter. I opened the envelope and unfolded the paper and it, written in Levi's messy scrawl, said:

"Hey Petra,

Erwin has informed me that, now that all of this Government Investigation bullshit is over, the Survey Corp has finally been given permission to scout outside of the Walls once more. I've already asked Oluo, Eld, and Gunther and they agreed so now I'm asking you: Would you like to form the Special Operations Squad again? If so meet me and the others at Castle Utgard. We need to practice our maneuvers and get back into shape…"

I paused from reading to look at my stomach; I squeezed the small fat roll that was developing. I looked down at the letter and noticed something faded, like it had been hastily erased.

"…I'm looking forward to working with you again so you'd better fucking show up. I mean it. See you soon.

Levi"

When I got done with the letter, I felt good, and then I shook out the rest of the envelopes contents. I was thrilled to see my badge fall out into my hand; it meant that I would see some action again. I was so excited that I let out a really loud scream. My father burst through the bathroom door holding a shotgun and threatening to "kill whatever son of a bitch" was threatening his daughter. I jumped from the tub and hugged him. I showed him the letter and then, whilst simultaneously drying off and running, I went to my room to pack. We spent about two weeks getting back into shape. I was breathing pretty heavily, at first, but soon I was back to my old self. We gathered up and Commander Erwin welcomed us all back, another week later, we set out on the 48th Scouting Expedition. It was a rousing success, as were the seven subsequent Expeditions. Then, along came the 56th Expedition.

We were gone for about a day. We weren't able to go out as far as we had been before. In the yearlong lull the Titans had managed to repopulate areas we had more or less cleared. They were attacking and attempting to kill and eat us left and right. I was helping Captain Levi to comfort a poor dying young man when the messenger from the Garrison arrived. We were informed that Wall Rose had been breached and that Trost was completely taken over by the Titans. Commander Erwin ordered a full retreat and, after losing 6 people and accomplishing literally nothing, the 56th Scouting Expedition was put to an end. We arrived back in Trost to see a most amazing sight, a Rogue Titan, who turned out to be a young cadet who could shift into a Titan, plugged the breach in the Wall with a giant boulder. I went down to help defend the boy while he was carried away (it was fun, I got to work with Rico and she got good at killing Titans). Soon enough we managed to clear out 50 of the 52 Titans trapped within Trost. The Special Operations Squad helped Hange capture the remaining two, for study. We were put in charge of guarding the Titan boy while Levi and Erwin met with a counsel to decide whether he deserved a fair trial or not. All I could do was stare at him, he didn't look dangerous laying there sleeping (even if he was shackled). Levi and Erwin came and relieved us of our post and while the others were ready to get away from him, I couldn't help but ask Levi: "What's his name?" I was told that his name was Eren Yeager and that, should the trials go in Erwin's favor, we would be working closely with him. I gave Eren one last look, and then I walked away. The next day, I was called to Erwin's office and informed that for the next month, we would be in charge of guarding Eren…and killing him if necessary.

The next month was…interesting. First off, a couple days after we were charged with guarding Eren, somebody killed "Sonny" and "Bean" (Hange's Pet Titans that we captured in Trost), and as I stood there watching Hange freak out, Commander Erwin came up to me and asked me whom I thought the "true enemy" was. I couldn't answer him right away and he just moved on to the next person without a word. Also, we were given Castle Stenvault as a base to store Eren at. It was far away from any populated areas, just in case Eren were to lose control. I tried to bond with Eren, I always wanted a little brother and he seemed nice enough. I helped to coach him through Levi's neat-freak tendencies, I accompanied him wherever he went to make sure he was comfortable (and in control), and it was my job to put him to bed at night. As part of our contract for keeping Eren, we had to keep him restrained at night. Because Eren activated his Titan form through self-injury, when he went to bed I had to: lash his ankles together, shackle his wrists to the bed, wrap his fingers with medical tape, and tightly cleave gag him so that he couldn't bite himself. I felt bad about doing this because, of course, there was no way to get a good night's sleep while tightly restrained like that. My guilt only got worse after my reaction to Eren's "accidental shift"; it felt wrong to be so suspicious of somebody I was trying to befriend. Furthermore, when I learned that it was truly an accident that he shifted, my heart sunk; I tried to mend my mistake by biting my hand as a sign of trust. My guilt still didn't die down though. Then, I had an idea. I had another bed taken down to Eren's dungeon cell that he slept in and, that night, when I took Eren down to sleep, I told him I would keep him company. Eren welcomed somebody to stay with him, even if he was afraid of accidently transforming and crushing me. I told him to hush, and then he opened his mouth to be gagged. I sat down on the adjacent bed and told him that there would be none of that tonight. Eren and I sat there, talking to one another. We stayed up all night talking to one another. At one point he even cried (that's right I said cried) about his mother's death. I hugged him tight and he hugged back. He fell asleep in my arms. When he woke up that next morning he spoke to me in a much more familiar tone. We walked out of that cell that morning and I felt like we had actually become friends. We spent the rest of the month training and practicing incorporating Eren into our maneuvers. Then, finally, Commander Erwin announced the date we would be leaving for the 57th Scouting Expedition. We gathered at the gate and, with Commander Erwin's order, we galloped out the gate in Karanese, for our first run with a Titan Shifter.

The 57th Expedition was…not right. It didn't feel like it normally did. Everyone was tense, probably because of Eren, but Levi and Erwin and the rest of the top brass seemed tense for a different reason, I could tell, something was being kept from us. I found out why when a 14-meter aberrant Titan started chasing us, the "Female Titan" as we started calling it. Eren wanted to fight that monster so badly; I took everything I had (and without Levi, I probably would've failed) to talk him down from turning into a Titan. I didn't want to see him get hurt. In the end, he placed his trust in us, which made me feel so good. As it turned out, we were using Eren as bait to lead this monster into a trap in the Forest of Giant Trees. Commander Erwin wanted to capture it for some reason, and while we initially did manage to lead it into a trap, it was prepared. The Female Titan called upon other Titans to eat it. From what I understand, it did this in order to escape because, like Eren, it was a human that could shift into a Titan. We were given our orders; we had to keep Eren safe no matter what. We gathered Eren and we fled, but we didn't count on the human within that monster being prepared. Whoever that woman was, she had a Survey Corps cape and ODM Gear (probably stole it off of a soldier she killed while in Titan form) and…and…she…she killed Gunther. She jumped him from the side and almost completely cleaved his head off. Eren wanted to shift into Titan form right then, he wanted to shift and kill that bitch. We should've let him, but we chose to follow orders instead. We sent Eren on his way and tried to take her disgusting malformed Titan form on by ourselves. We almost succeeded too. We disabled her arms and slashed out both of her eyes. Eld went in for the kill, but we hadn't counted on her being able to regenerate her eyes so quickly. Eld went for her nape, but she opened her mouth and snatched him from the air with her teeth. Then, with one bitter snap, Eld was bitten in half and spit onto the ground like used gum. Oluo and I were the only ones left and I started freaking out, all I could think of was my life. I tried to run away, but she caught up to me and…well, here we are, back were my story began:

"_Gyahhhhhhhhhhhhhh_"

"Petra, look out!"

***CRUNCH***

I was splattered against a tree. My chest felt warm and heavy and wet. I couldn't feel my back or my legs. I felt two warm trickles going down my face, blood erupting from my mouth and nose. I watched Oluo lose it, he moved faster than I've ever seen him move, he maneuvered around her and got to her nape before she could react and he plunged his swords at her. But she hardened the skin on her nape and his swords snapped. Then, she hardened her fist and batted Oluo out of the air. He smashed head first against a tree and his body fell limply to the ground. I tried to scream for him, see if he was okay, but the only sound that came out was a wet gurgle. I couldn't do anything and that hurt me more than anything, then, as Eren transformed, everything faded to red, and then black.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	6. Chapter 1: Survival

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral

Chapter One: Survival

I woke up with a thud, my body hit the ground hard, and I gasped in precious air as blood, both dry and fresh, flooded out of my throat. I was in…pain…pain is the only word I can think of to describe it. It was actually much worse than that. I'll put it this way, all of my blood flowing out of my mouth felt great compared to how my back and chest felt. My entire body was searing. I looked around; my body was still partially wrapped in a tarp. I was surrounded by my follow soldier's corpses, all wound tightly in a white tarp and bound with rope. With some struggling I managed to free my arms. It hurt to move, but I dragged myself under a small rock formation. It wasn't much, but the Titans weren't able to see or reach me under there. I removed the sheet and got a good look at myself. My chest was burst open from the front (no organs were hanging out, but I could see muscle fibers); shreds of my skin were hanging limply around my wound. I felt even more pain on my back, in at least six different spots there were bones sticking out. I took off my boots and looked down at my legs: one was twisted into an ungodly spire and the other was snapped open mid-shin, not that it mattered, I couldn't feel either of them anyway. I laid there and began weeping to myself, put simply: I was fucked. Unable to walk, no ODM Gear, trapped under a rock, and surrounded by brainless giant cannibals. I didn't have any hope and everyone who cared most-likely thought that I was dead. I didn't know what I could do. Then I looked out and saw it, a set of ODM Gear lying next to a corpse (he most likely died after we were all gathered up) on the ground. That was my hope. All I had to do was wait around until nightfall; the Titans became more docile at night. Hours passed and then, finally, the moon showed its face. I took it slow, I kind of had to without use of my legs, but I curtly dragged myself to the ODM Gear. I grabbed it and dragged myself back under the rock. I slipped on and belted the gear and then I checked the gas tanks. They were only a quarter full; this wasn't going to get me back to Wall Rose, but it could easily get me to a small town about halfway to the Walls. I could scavenge for gas there and make it back. I got up on my knees, balancing my shaking form against a slab, and I started to engage the ODM Gear. Then I heard a moan. I peered around; I saw one of the wrapped corpses shifting. I wasn't alone! I dragged myself back out, I latched onto the tarp with my teeth and I pulled us both back under my little hiding hole.

I struggled against the ropes, I tugged at them with what little strength I had left and eventually the tarp flowed open. Inside the tarp…was Oluo. He moaned, he brought his hand up to his head, covering the giant fissure that had cracked open, I could slightly see his brain. He looked up at me and gasped out, "Pe…Petra, thank god, you're alive…I was so…" Oluo drifted out of consciousness, I reached down and lightly slapped him on the face, "Oluo…OLUO!" He woke up, "Petra, th-thank god, you're alive…I was so afraid…I thought I lost you…" he chuckled to himself. "Well…we're screwed, yeah…" I turned away "Yeah…" Oluo drifted out again and I decided to let him rest. I took the ropes that were binding the tarp around his body and strapped him to my back. Then, I activated my ODM Gear. I knew I wasn't going to make it to Karanese today but I could at least make sure that Oluo and I could get there tomorrow. We flew forward, in pain, but fighting to live.

We arrived in the town; I believe it was known as Gongoroshiro, just as night was reaching its end. It wouldn't be long before the Titans became malignant again. I searched desperately and eventually found what it was that I was looking for, a hospital. A small hospital barely fit to hold 12 patients, but still…A Hospital. I dragged myself and Oluo in through a broken window on the second floor and quickly got us down to the first floor. It took a bit of dragging but I eventually managed to seal and barricade every door. I looked around and found the necessary medical supplies: disinfectant, bandages, tourniquets, and sutures, and I got to work. I couldn't feel my legs, but I still couldn't bring myself to look as I untwisted my left leg and stitched up my right. I reached behind me and began shoving dislodged vertebrate back into place, I practically coated my entire torso in disinfectant (it burned like hell) and wrapped my chest (what was left of it, my right breast was more or less gone) tightly in bandages. Then I got to work on Oluo, I had to carefully move his skull cap back into proper position and slowly sowed his scalp back on. At one point during the "surgery" Oluo (unintentionally) punched me in the face, hard, so I had to tie his hands to an anchoring point on the ground. When I got done sowing him up, I applied the last of that bottle of disinfectant into his head and wrapped it up tight. He either fell asleep from fatigue or passed out from pain, I didn't really care either way, I found a nice cool spot on the floor, I dragged myself into a comfortable position, I laid my now swollen eye on the ground, and I passed out from the pain as the sun rose. And honestly, a part of me secretly hoped that I wouldn't wake up.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	7. Chapter 2: Scavenging

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral

Chapter Two: Scavenging

I woke up in a haze; my face was throbbing along with my heartbeat. I caught a glimpse of myself in a broken mirror. My eye was bloated into an ungodly purplish-black lump; the eyeball itself was pink and peering slightly to the left. I pushed myself up into sitting position and looked over at Oluo. He was lying there, snoring loudly and occasionally twitching. I always hated Oluo's snoring, but this time I just took it as relief, snoring was proof that he was alive. I reached over an untied his hands, but otherwise I left him alone. I was alone for now, I didn't want to wake him up and there was no one else to talk to. Then I made the mistake of reaching down and touching my left leg. It…hurt…a lot. I wasn't expecting it, when I went to sleep that morning my left leg had no feeling, but now it practically hurt to look at it. I tried to move it, but it wouldn't budge. I couldn't make the muscles want to move. I soon turned my attention to my right leg. The suture was looking nice ("nice" being a synonym for "not-green"). I poked my upper thigh and I felt it (promising), I poked my shin and felt lightning race up my entire body (painful, but it was a good pain), I poked my foot and I felt it (I was actually getting excited), and then I tried to move my leg: nothing (my hopes burst into flames and hit the ground). My legs were completely paralyzed. I began weeping to myself; I needed my arms for balance so I couldn't even bury my face into my hands. My tears just streamed from my face and dripped into little puddles on the floor. With all of my sniffling and moaning I didn't notice that Oluo had woken and stood up. He came over to me, collapsed to his knees, and hugged me. I hugged him back and we just sat there, embracing, until Oluo's stomach growled. I leaned back and looked him in the eyes, I was still crying but a small smile crept up on my face:

"Hungry?"

"Yeah, I'm really hungry…"

I looked out the window I saw the moon overlooking us. I turned back to Oluo and said:

"Ya know, if we're going to eat anything we need to go scavenging now, while it's dark."

"What do you mean "we" Petra?"

"I mean WE need to go find food while the Titan's are docile."

"You can't walk."

"So, I'll crawl"

"You're nuts! I'm not taking you out there so you can crawl to your death."

"You're no doing any better. Your face is twitching uncontrollably and your hands haven't stopped shaking. You need to remember that skin was the only thing holding your skull together!"

"So? That sounds like a flesh wound to me…"

"Oluo, how many fingers am I holding up?"

I held up my Index, Ring, and Pinky fingers. Oluo squinted and looked at them. He responded:

"Admittedly it's a little blurry but you're holding up…uh…hmmm…I know the number, it's the one between two and four…not five…not…not six…Did I already say two?"

"Oh, Oluo…"

"Th…Th…Three? Yeah, YEAH THREE!"

He couldn't remember, for a moment he honestly couldn't remember the word "three". That…was chilling. Oluo was always so confident in everything he did and now, unless he seriously thought about it, he couldn't remember basic words. I tried to protest further but Oluo suddenly seized me by the wrist and pulled me over to the coil of rope that I had used to strap him to my back. He didn't tie me up tight; he just lightly bound my wrists together. Then he put his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes and said, "I know you could probably untie your hands right now if you wanted to, but please don't." he hugged me tight, "I couldn't stand to watch you die…again…Petra. So please just stay put, I'll be back with f…foo…food." Oluo turned around and put on our ODM Gear, as he was walking away I spoke up, "Oluo…please don't let me end up stuck here alone" he turned around and smiled, then he was gone.

I leaned against the wall, peering out the window. The way my back was contorted was killing me. All of the spots on my back where bones popped out were bleeding underneath the bandages. My back and the gauze covering it felt sticky and warm and wet and on fire simultaneously. But I didn't care, I just wanted Oluo, the only person who knew that I was alive, to show up. I hated to think about what would happen to him if he were still outside when the sun rose. I just sat there, waiting. Occasionally, I would fidget with my wrist bindings out of nervousness, but otherwise I held still and watched. Then I heard a loud clunk on the roof, soon a louder clamor came from the second floor. Suddenly, pressurized gas tanks began rolling down the stairs. By the time the noise stopped there were ten tanks lying at the base of the stairs. Soon enough, Oluo came down the stairs as well, he was toting with him a large, full-looking sack. He came over to me and said, "See, told you I'd come…come…come…uh…" "Come back?" I asked. "Yeah, that's it!" He bent down and gently removed the rope from my wrists. Then he reached into bag and handed me a jar of preserved fruit and a spoon. He pulled out a jar of mixed vegetables and a fork and we began eating. I came to the sudden realization that I was REALLY hungry. I tossed the spoon aside and began shoveling the fruit into my mouth with my hands. It was peaches or something; I honestly never took the time to taste. When I was done, I was a mess; my hands, my face, and my chest bandages were covered in fruity syrup. Moments later, Oluo tossed aside his jar and released a large belch:

"Would it kill you to learn some manners, dumbass?"

"At least I ate with a f-f-f-fork; you'll never become an acceptable wife if you continue to eat with your f-f-f-fingers."

"REALLY? Well then, why don't you tell me whose WIFE you think I plan to become?"

"Certainly not mi-i-i-i-ine."

"Like. I. Would. Ever. Marry. YOU."

I wiped my hand on his shirt, making extra sure to get sticky slime all over his cravat.

"He, don't stain my CRAVAT! How am I supposed to look b-b-b-b-ba-badass now!"

"DUMBASS! Let's get something straight right now: YOU AREN'T LEVI!"

"Oh, would you marry me if I was L-L-Lee-L-L-Levi?"

"I…uh…"

That caught me off guard. I have feelings for Levi, yeah, but I always thought I hid them fairly well behind a veil of professionalism, I guess I wasn't trying hard enough if Oluo figured me out. Where I was worried about Oluo before, I was now just really annoyed. So I reached my fist over and playfully punched him on the arm. He jokingly shoved me back. Then I shoved him a bit harder. Then…he shoved back. I know he didn't mean it, he wouldn't hurt me on purpose, but when he shoved me, the wall behind me shook and the shelf above my head collapsed. I woke up, my head was bandaged, the sun was high in the sky, and I'd say it was around 3 O'clock. I looked over; Oluo was gripping my hand so tightly and his eyes were puffy. I can only imagine the thoughts that were racing through his head while I was out. He probably thought he killed me. I shook him, "Oluo, wake up!" His eyes opened and, when he saw me, he sprang up and pressed my face into his chest, "Thank God, I thought I killed you…Thank God…" I pulled my face out of his chest and shot him a reassuring smile. "I noticed that you grabbed quite a few gas tanks, so does that mean that we're heading back to Wall Rose soon?" I asked. Oluo wiped his tears and then shook his head, "Petra, we can't go home yet, neither of us is well enough to make the journey…" he tapped my bandaged head and his at the same time, "Maybe in about a month, but not right now." Then, Oluo cracked a smile, "But I did manage to get this." Oluo produced a somewhat dusty set of ODM Gear, "I scavenged this from a corpse, now we both have Gear so that when we get better we can go home together." Oluo and I both smiled, but I could tell that we were both uneasy. I knew the next month wasn't going to be easy. Then I pictured my Dad, and Levi, and Eren. I knew, I had to make it home for them.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	8. Chapter 3: Rest and Recovery

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral

Chapter Three: Rest and Recovery

It had been about three weeks (twenty-one sunrises and twenty-one sunsets) and we were doing better. Oluo had stopped the majority of his shaking; even though his stutter still occasionally showed up, he was slowly but surely coming back. I was also doing relatively well. My legs stopped constantly burning and stinging, and I was able to remove the majority of the bandages from my torso. I was covered in ugly purplish welts and hideous scabs. The swelling in my left eye had gone down, although my eyeball was still lazing slightly over to the left, it could see, but my eye just wouldn't reset. In the intervening nights, Oluo had managed to gather up a ton of jarred and canned food. He also got me some books and himself some "books" (he was too proud to admit what it really was), and he had found us a deck of cards to play with. In the times when I would decide to sleep, he would exercise. He did push-ups and sit-ups and had fashioned himself a makeshift set of weights. We were slowly getting better. I couldn't walk (my legs still would not respond) but I was building up my upper-body strength. As long as I had my arms I could operate my ODM.

I really wanted to take a bath; it had been three weeks since my last one after all. It was really hot during the day; it was the middle of summer after all. I was getting to be really sticky (both from my sweat and all of the preserved fruit I was eating) and I was starting to smell. I tried not to itch myself when Oluo was looking, but sometimes I just couldn't help myself. He could see that I was uncomfortable and it was clearly bothering him. Night fell and Oluo got dressed so that he could get to work. He started by grabbing our bathroom buckets, two large metal pails that we went to the bathroom in. The bucket on the left was full of piss and the other was…let's just say all of the "having trouble shitting jokes" Levi made were a lot darker in retrospect. Oluo winced at the smell. He told me he would be back in ten or so minutes. He always made sure to take our business far enough away that the smell wouldn't attract the Titans onto our doorstep. He came over to me, set down the piss bucket, and hugged me tight. Then he went over to the storage cabinet, grabbed a gigantic hose that he had salvaged, picked up the piss bucket, and left.

I hated the times when I was alone; it really made me depreciate the fact that I was so good at reading. Oluo brought back books whenever he went out, but I always managed to speed through them so quickly. At one point I tried to read one of Oluo's books, but there weren't even words in those books, just pictures of naked women (first person to ask whether I liked what I saw gets it in the face). All I had to do was sit in my bed, play solitaire, and listen just in case Oluo started screaming for help. He made me promise not to come help it I ever heard him in distress, but I there was even he slight chance he was going to die, I'd be out of here at "Mikasa rescuing Eren" speeds. A few minutes later, Oluo came back in. I looked over and my heart skipped. Oluo was covered in blood. It was quickly evaporating blood, but blood none the less. I stared at him and eventually managed to stumble out, "Y-y-y-y-y-y-you killed a Titan?!" He looked at me and nodded, "Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhh…" He looked ecstatic, he came over for a congratulatory hug and when he leaned down I slapped him in the face as hard as I could, "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG YOU!" I slapped him again and again and again, tears streaming down my face the entire time, until he finally caught me by the wrist. "W-W-W-WHAT'S WRONG WITH Y-Y-YOU? WHY DO YOU KEEP HITT-HITT-HITTING ME?!" I looked at him and, with my voice still trembling I managed to squeak out, "what if you had been eaten…?" He backed up a bit, "Well, it's not like I was looking for a fight…I just got distracted doing s-s-something…" My eyes went wide, "Distracted…? DISTRACTED! WHAT THE FUCK WAS SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU GOT 'DISTRACTED'?" Oluo brought his index finger up to my lips and motioned me to watch him work. He took a medium-sized bundle off of his back and began piling firewood into the fire pit we had dug underneath the old bathtub next to my bed. "Are we making soup again?" (I know, strange question. On one of his trips out, Oluo managed to kill a deer, so we made stew in the bathtub.) Oluo just turned to me and smiled; he lit the fire and then began to suck on the end of the hose he had brought back. Soon enough, water came out and he began to fill up the tub. When the tub was full, he filled a few empty jars with water and then yanked really hard on the hose. When the water stopped flowing, Oluo reeled in the rest of the hose and then came over to me, "Ready for a bath?" He smiled. "Really dumbass? You nearly die for this?" He tilted his head, "Just shut up and enjoy it." He helped me slip off the nightdress that he had scavenged for me and then picked me up. It was strange, being completely naked in Oluo's arms, but I trusted him not to try anything. He slowly lowered me into the water. It stung at first, but then it just felt exquisite. Oluo produced a knife from his pocket and proceeded to cut the bandages from around my upper chest. Then he went upstairs and left me alone.

I looked down and just stared as a melancholy feeling crept into my heart. It felt wrong to look down into the bath water and only see one boob floating there. Oluo and I tried our best to save my right breast, but infection eventually got to it and he had to cut it off. All that was left was a hideous half-scar half-scab that still bled occasionally when I breathed in deep. I tilted my head back and stared at the stairwell, waiting for Oluo to come back down. He came and he was holding two bottles and a rag. He handed one to me, then he dipped his hand into the water and proceeded to empty the other bottle into it. I looked at the bottle he handed me, it was faded but I could still make out "SOO_ING L_VEND_ BODYW_". I grinned and began to say "Oh Oluo, how did you know I like laven…" Suddenly, my head was forced underwater, not for too long, about five seconds, and pulled back up. I whipped around, "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Oluo giggled to himself and began to rubbing his shampoo slathered fingers through my now wet hair. He massaged my scalp and started talking to me, "Can't have you having dirty hair when we see Levi again, can't have you proposing to the Captain covered in grime…" My eyes went wide and my face turned red, "I'll be doing WHAT to Levi?!" He cut his eyes at me, "Proposing. You know he won't do it, so you gotta. Right?" I huffed, "Don't be a dumbass…" He continued washing my hair in silence. When he was done he poured a jar of the water over my hair, making sure to get all of the soap out. Then he handed me the rag, "C-c-can-n-n-n you wash yourself?" I looked down at the rag and my lonely breast, "Of course I can." While I was washing myself, Oluo went over to the small stove in the corner of the room and put on some water to boil. I scrubbed myself with the body wash, it felt nice and cool. It still hurt when I scrubbed over my wounds; I winced every time I touched one. I took Oluo's knife and reached down to trim my toenails. Oluo came back over and handed me a freshly boiled cup of coffee. "Making yourself all pretty for your wedding day?" I glared at him, "Shut up…" Then, I proceeded to drink my coffee.

Soon enough, my bath was over. Oluo had scavenged me a new night shirt. He reapplied my bandages, put the nightshirt on me, and laid me back in my bed. I felt so much more comfortable. Oluo extinguished the fire underneath the tub and laid down on the pile of sheets he had made for himself on the floor. He looked at me and said; "I know we usually wait until the sun rises, but let's get to bed early" He leaned over and blew out the flame in the lantern. Then it was dark:

"Oluo?"

"Yeah?"

*sniffle* "Thank you…"

"No problem"

*Silence and quiet Sobbing*

"Petra?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Get a lot of sl-sl-sleep, tomorrow we're g-g-g-g-g-going home."

"Okay. We'll do it together."

*A Mixture of Quiet and Loud Snoring*

A woke up a few hours later; I heard some quiet shuffling up on the second floor. I passed it off as nothing more than a raccoon. Then it got louder, my eyes shot open and I turned over just in time to have the barrel of a rifle shoved into my mouth.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	9. Chapter 4: Bandits

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral

Chapter Four: Bandits

I didn't know who he was, the man who had shoved the barrel of his rifle into my mouth. He stood above me, his dirty boots on my nice clean bed sheets, finger on the trigger and a look in his eyes daring me to try something. I looked over and saw Oluo, laying on the floor with another rifle jammed into his right temple. I looked by at the one on my bed and tried to formulate the words, "Pwease, tay at un ah mah fwiens hea, ee's wecoven fwom a ijwy…" The man removed his rifle from my mouth, "What?" I gathered myself and tried again, "Please, take that gun off my friends head, he's recovering from a serious injury…" The man motioned looked over at his friend, "Fine" he said "but you have to wear these…" Oluo and I were sat down on the floor, our hands shackled behind our backs, and forced to watch as those bandits rifled through everything that we had gathered to use to go home. They took all of our food, our gas tanks, and our ODM Gear, out through the roof. I could hear them talking to other bandits outside. These bastards had brass, of that much I was certain, they were walking around in broad daylight and rifling through houses, apparently without fear of being eaten alive. Soon, they finished stealing everything that we had worked so hard on getting and after a bit of laughing and fraternizing with one another, one of them posed a question: "Now what do we do with these two?" All attention in the room shifted to me and Oluo, I tried to free my wrists but the shackles held tight. One of them knelt down and pinched my face: "I bet they make good slaves…" he chuckled, "…this guy looks strong enough to do some serious manual labor and this girl…" he snickered to himself, "I can think of some things that she can do as well…" I almost vomited at that. Two of the men forced Oluo to his feet and made him start walking, another one attempted to force me to my feet but the second he let go of my arm I fell flat on my face. "Hey!" he grabbed me by my shirt, "I said WALK dammit!" The guy tried to make me stand up again and I fell down once more, "You disobedient little skank!" He drew his rifle and aimed it at my head. "Wait!" Oluo screamed at the guy, "It isn't her fault man, she can't walk!" The bandit stared down at me, "Well then, if this pretty little pony can't walk…then I might as well…" he put his finger on the trigger, I squeezed my eyes shut and started tearing up, I braced for him to fire but then Oluo spoke up, "HOLD IT!" All of the bandits looked at him as he jutted his tongue out of his mouth, "I swear to God, if you hurt her I'll bite my tongue, then you won't have any goddamn slaves." The lead bandit didn't look like he cared, then his friend spoke up, "Hey Dino, as much as I'd like to see both these losers die, our numbers are down and if we don't bring somethin' good back the boss'll be pissed…" The bandit looked down at me and back at the potentially suicidal Oluo, "Ah screw it…" he reached down and removed the shackles from my wrists, only to tightly tie them back together. He picked me up and threw me onto my bed. He looked at Oluo, "There. Happy?" The bandit proceeded to ascend the stairs and motioned for his men to follow him, he allowed Oluo to come say his goodbyes to me. Oluo leaned in close, "Petra, I'm dead okay. That's it, I'm going to be with Eld and Gunther again soon, but we don't want to see your ass anytime soon, so please…just go home. Okay?" Oluo shot me a broken smile, he stared up at the ceiling for a moment, and then he was hauled away. I heard the bandits load into their carts and then, soon enough, it was utterly silent.

I tried to do something. I fought against the ropes and I thrashed and I rolled off of the bed, but all that got me was a bleeding left wrist. I lay down on the floor and cried. No, not cried, crying is too civil, I screamed. I screamed as long and loud and brutally as I could and thrashed around, smashing my head against the floor and knocking over the few things that remained in my small hospital prison. Then I got a good look at myself in the mirror, my head was bleeding, there was a small trickle of blood leaking from my nose, and there was a steady stream of tears raining from my eyes. I felt so worthless. I thought back on everything, all of my training and all of my big talk about faith and trust and the power of teamwork and I couldn't even save Oluo. I just laid there and cried and screamed. Then I thought of Levi and Eren. They wouldn't just give up like this. I needed to get to Oluo, so I snatched at my wrists. I snatched again and again and again and again and again and then, with a forceful snap…I broke my wrist. It hurt, but it gave me enough leeway to shimmy my wrist out of the rope cuff that encircled it. It used what little strength that I had left to push myself onto my bed and flattened out. Soon enough, I started crying again. As if it wasn't bad enough that I had lost Oluo, he brought up Gunther and Eld again before he left. My three best friends in the entire world were gone, and I was stuck alone, totally crippled, with two severely injured hands. I could barely wipe my eyes without getting blood in them. I didn't know what to do…until I began staring at the ceiling. I looked up and saw two sets of numbers etched into the ceiling "7-30" and "1-30". Why did those numbers sound so familiar? I thought about the last words Oluo said to me and how he looked up:

_I'm going to be with Gunther and Eld again soon_

_I'm going to be with Gunther and Eld_

_With Gunther and Eld_

_Gunther and Eld_

Then it dawned on me, Gunther was born on July 30th and Eld was born on January 30th, 7-30 and 1-30. I reached down and grabbed a stick from the floor. I reached up and poked the spot where the numbers were etched. The ceiling creaked and ached and then it collapsed on the other side of the room. When the dust cleared I looked into the rubble and saw a third set of ODM Gear and two full tanks of gasoline. Oluo. He left me a care package, a way to get home. I almost started crying again, but then the sight of Oluo and the last smile he gave me crossed my mind. I couldn't go home and leave him. So I decided that, dead legs or no, I was going to get him back. I fell to the floor, dragged myself over to the ODM and put it on, grabbed my Survey Corps jacket, and began dragging myself up the stairs. Soon enough, I was on the roof, I was outside for the first time since I had entered that hospital. The sun had just started to set, I could barely make out the wheel mark of the bandits wagon. I steadied myself, I breathed in and out and in again, and then I activated my ODM. I soared through the air, getting reacquainted with zipping around for only a moment before I seriously started flying in the direction the wagon marks were going. I flew out from the city limits, steadying myself for the fight that I would soon be facing, and then I looked to my left. An Aberrant Titan. It ran towards me, its head tilted completely sideways. It did a full flip over me and then whipped around and smacked me to the ground. I just couldn't move anymore, I could barely tremble as the Titan picked me up and brought me towards its mouth. I desperately and quietly spat out my last words, "I'm so sorry, Oluo, I'm so sorry…" I closed my eyes and prepared for the end, and then I heard a boom. I opened my eyes just in time to see and large hook on the end of a cable latch into the Titans eye. Some force yanked on the cable and spun the Titan around so that three more hooked cables could connect to its nape. Then three sparks ran up the length of the cable and, when they reached the hooks, they exploded. The Titan let out a scream of pain but then fell over dead. As the Titan sizzled away, I heard footsteps coming from beyond the evaporating mist. I heard voices and instinctively grabbed for my blade. Then, out of the smoke, came what appeared to be a 13-year old boy. He produced a flare gun and shot it into the air. Another person, a woman, emerged from the mist and proceeded to look me up and down. She produced a syringe from her pocket and knelt down to face level, "Ma'am I hate to do this, but if I don't sedate you, you're going to bleed to death!" Before I could stop her she stuck me in the neck and once more everything faded to black.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	10. Chapter 5: Wall Maria Resilience Group

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral

Chapter 5: The Wall Maria Resilience Group

Once more I woke up in a haze. To be honest, I was getting pretty sick of it. The constant waking up, unsure of where I was, unsure of if I was safe, constantly in pain, it was getting to be a bit much. Well, I couldn't really complain about pain because, for the first time in three weeks, I wasn't in pain. I looked over and saw a needle stuck into my right arm. It was dripping some sort of clear liquid into my arm. Morphine? No, couldn't be. I was stuck in the wilds of Wall Maria, where the hell would morphine come from? I took stock of the entire room that I was in. There were full shelves of what appeared to be basic medical supplies, a table of clear canisters that appeared to be full of medicinal plants, and to my right there was a long narrow hole in the wall with the faintest amount of moonlight spilling out of it. I looked down at my legs; they were both tightly wound with bandages and casted. My left wrist was effectively sutured shut and my right was bandaged, casted, and hung lazily in a sling around my neck. I tried sitting up but was held back by a leather strap going across my stomach. I wanted to remove it but the morphine was making me too lucid. My head sunk deep into my pillow and, as I drifted back into a deep sleep, I thought about Oluo.

I woke up again, except it was different this time, I opened my eyes to the sight of a little kid, no older than eight-years old playing with what appeared to be my Survey Corps jacket. He was running in circles, his arms extended outward, and he was making noises with his mouth and hands, *WOOSH* *BOOM* *WHIZZ* *KA-CHINK* *WOOSH*, and then he jumped towards the chair that was sitting in the corner and yelled, "TAKE THAT YOU EVIL TITAN!" He proceeded to whack the chair with the broom he was holding. "WOO-HOO! ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE HEROES OF THE SURVEY CORPS!" he stood on the corpse of his "defeated foe" and cheered for himself. At that point I couldn't help but giggle. My giggling startled him, he turned around, saw me looking at him, and fell off of the chair. "You know…" I began, "…the Titan's should start running right now if they wish to survive…with a big strong Scout like you after them…" I gave him a weak smile and he proceeded to get up and flee the room, "BIG SISTER! SHE'S AWAKE! THE SURVEY CORP WOMAN IS AWAKE!" Soon enough the boy came back, with him there were the two people who saved me from the Aberrant, the 13-year old boy and the older woman. The boys face was dirty and his hands were covered in bandages, he was wearing a pair of green overalls and a grimy set of goggles that looked somewhat like the ones Hange wore. The woman on the other hand was clean, her brown hair done up into a neat bob; she was wearing thigh-high boots, a yellow go-go dress, a pair of orange sunglasses, and a starched-white lab coat with a stethoscope and a pocket full of what appeared to be lollipops. She looked me up and down and eventually spoke, "Well, Good Morning! You appear to be doing better! You need anything? Are ya hungry? Thirsty?" She walked over to the hole in the wall, she reached her hand up into it and, after some fidgeting, more light suddenly flooded in through it. She continued talking, "You haven't said anything yet, does your throat hurt? I know your voice works what with all the screaming you did during surgery…" She turned and winked at me.

Suddenly, it all came flooding back to me. I remembered waking up and falling out over and over. Being strapped down to a table, feeling something slice into my back, the creepy feeling of hands moving around inside of me and being all over me. The feeling of being touched on my legs, my wrists, my head and face, my _**SPINE**_. And the pain, the horrifying amounts of pain. "How long have I been out?" She looked at me, "Four Days." My eyes widened, "FOUR?!" "Yeah, four." She ran her fingers through her hair, "I'm so sorry about causing you so much pain, but it was necessary. It appeared as if you and whoever was taking care of you were trying hard to keep you healthy, but you couldn't have gone on much longer like that. Surgery was _**very **_necessary." I looked down at my blanket. I decided that it was for the best not to mention Oluo at that moment, after all, at the time I didn't know who these people were. I looked at her:

"Who are you people? Where am I?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Where are my manners? My name is Bethesda Dugan. I'm the doctor of this place. The messy brat is my little brother Dominic and this little guy, who's totally not supposed to be playing with your jacket, is Leo."

"It's okay" I motioned for Leo to come to me, "That jacket is very special, but you can keep it if you promise to take care of it."

He deeply gasped, "THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!"

He hugged me and went running down the hall. "He's really cute" I smiled.

"Yeah he is…" Bethesda grinned, "How would you like some fresh air?"

She turned and looked at Dominic, "Is it ready?"

He nodded and left the room and Bethesda began interviewing me, "So, here are my questions in order: What's your name? When's your birthday? What Expedition were you on? Do you specialize in any special skill? What's your favorite food? How proficient are you with ODM? What rank are you? Are you "into" girls? How much can you lift? What District are you from? Do you think it's weird that I took your panties? And do you like Turtles?"

I could practically hear my brain sizzling, but I tried my best to answer all of her questions, "I'm Petra Ral. I was born on December 3. I was on the 57th Expedition. I'm a member of the Special Operations Squad. I really like Salmon. I have overall excellent combat skills. I'm a lieutenant. I'm not a lesbian. I can bench about 160 lbs. I was born in Karanese. I would appreciate if you gave back my underwear. And yes, turtles are cool."

She frowned a little, "Are you sure about the girl's thing? I mean I'm single, but I'm still looking…and I make a pretty damn good salmon filet…" she bobbed her eyebrows at me.

"Look, Bethesda…"

"Please, my friends call me Beth, Petty-kins!"

"Right…Beth, you still haven't answered, where am I?"

"Oh that's easy, you're in our base."

"And whose base is this exactly?"

"The Wall Maria Resilience Group!"

"The what?"

"We're survivors who live out here in the Wilds of Wall Maria, after the Purge…"

"The Purge? You mean the Reclamation Mission?"

"Yeah, the 'Reclamation' Mission…humph, reclaim my ass…"

"Sorry?"

"Oh nothing, but yeah, we're Action Survivors out here making it on our own!"

"Wow, that's impressive. Do you have a Leader?"

"Yeah. But Larkin's gone at the moment, he'll be back later and I bet he'll be thrilled to see you!"

"So what do we do until then?"

Suddenly, Dominic came back in pushing a makeshift wheelchair. "I'll tell you what we'll do…" Beth said, "…I'll give you the Grand Tour!"

Beth picked me up and pecked me on the cheek, "Trust me, you're gonna love it!" She sat me in the chair and tussled Dominic's hair. Then she wheeled me out the door and we began our tour of the WMRG's base.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	11. Chapter 6: The Yard of the Fallen

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral

Chapter 6: The Yard of the Fallen

The tour of the Wall Maria Resilience Groups base was probably one of the strangest experiences of my life. Between how weirdly optimistic the bases denizens were, how strangely it was built, and the fact that Beth wouldn't stop hitting on me, it made for a weird day. The tour began with Beth explaining how the base was built:

"We're _HOW_ far underground?" I asked.

"One-hundred and seventy feet." Beth responded.

"How is that possible? I mean, it's so bright down here…"

"Yeah, that's because of the Lumivents."

"Lumivents?"

"Lumivents. Its short for illumination vents. They're holes that Larkin and all of the other adults dug to the surface. They allow sunlight and fresh air to reach down here."

"And what exactly is here?"

"This was an ore mine before Larkin and the rest of us took it over. When Wall Maria was breached, the miners and their families were all abandoned here by the Government. The Survey Corp tried to help them, but they were never able to make it out this far. We came along after the Purge and when Larkin came to an agreement with the miners, we formed a society here."

"Wow…I can't believe that the King would just let people be trapped here like that."

"Trust me Petty-kins; the King is capable of much worse…"

The rest of the walk to the center of town was carried out in silence, I felt weird because it was clear that I had managed to strike a nerve somewhere inside Beth. Soon enough we arrived in town square and I was met by the most amazing thing I had ever seen. The town was encapsulated by a huge rock dome and drilled into that dome were hundreds of Lumivents. Looking up at it, that huge, black stone lid covered in countless luminous pock marks, it kind of reminded me of a clear night sky. I looked up a Beth:

"Beth, that is beautiful."

"I know, you should see it at night…it's really great for…I dunno…dates…?" she winked at me.

"Yeah…that's great…maybe I'll bring Levi here sometime…"

"_**WHO THE HELL IS LEVI!"**_

I snickered and looked at her

"Oh, I get it; you're picking on me…meanie…"

"Sorry, sorry…I like you Beth, just…as a friend. Okay?"

She sighed, "Fine. For now."

"So, where do you get your water from?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Oh that's an easy one; there are several natural rivers and ponds that run adjacent to this place. Larkin had the miners drill into them so that the water could drain into our own reservoir. We also make sure to collect water when it rains so that we're never out of water. We've also taken to setting a portion of it aside for the farming of fish."

"Whoa, wait a minute. You guys have farms down here?!"

"Yeah, see the areas where there's more sunlight? We raise animals and farm crops there."

"How many of those special sunspots do you have?"

"We have eleven, but Larkin only allows ten to be used for farming."

"Why only ten?"

"That, Petty-kins, is all part of the tour, but I have a couple other sights to show you first."

Beth proceeded to show me several other areas of their society including: their dry storage, the market, the place where they threw their waste (both human and material), and Larkin's (currently) empty office. I liked Larkin's office; it was what I always imagined the Survey Corps should've gotten from the Government. A large building, tall and strongly built, not overly showy but still respectful and best of all, it had the Survey Corps emblem engraved and stained on the front of it. A Giant Office Emblazoned with the Wings of Freedom (I even remember thinking at the time: Wait, is Larkin a Scout?). Soon enough, we reached the end of the tour, but Beth still hadn't made good on her promise, she still hadn't showed me this mysterious eleventh field. "Hey Beth…" I asked, "…what about the other field?" A look of consternation zipped across Beth's face, "Petty-kins, are you sure you want to see that? I mean, it's really, really late and…" "Why shouldn't we go now…?" I was growing concerned, "…is there something wrong there?" Beth grabbed her arm, "No. It's…it's just…it's not the most pleasant place…" I assured Beth that whatever there was in this field I would be prepared. The walk to the field was a long one, we had to go through multiple darkened tunnels and cross over several bridged chasms, but thirty minutes later, when we finally arrived, I was met with a most unexpected sight. It wasn't a field of fruits and vegetables, a place where waste was stored, or even a public park; I was met by the sight of hundreds of tombstones all illuminated by the sunlight.

Beth wheeled me into the graveyard; we went by row after row of tombstones, each row looking slightly newer than the last. "Beth" I began, "how many people have died here?" I peered around, scanning the entire field, there were at least 500 tombstones, maybe even more than that. Beth spoke up and in a voice that lacked all of her previous joviality, she said:

"When the Purge occurred, all of us who were forced out stayed together for all of five minutes. People started freaking out and running in all directions, the Titan's were killing us left and right. Larkin gathered all of us he could and we came here. It's sad you know, out of all of us that left only 200 or so survived, if you count the miners there were only about 350."

I sat there in stunned silence, I knew from Levi talking about it that the government could be selfish; but to doom people like that, it was sickening.

"Now I know what you're thinking Petty-kins, there are way too many tombstones here to be just be us, even if **ALL** of us had died. You're 100% right, too many tombstones…"

I began to look around again and slowly but surely I noticed that the tombstones stopped being inscribed with names, all there was at this point were badges, Scout Badges.

"…around here, we hold a lot of respect for you Scouts, unless it is absolutely necessary you never leave your dead behind. You have so much respect for one another, but it's understandable that you can't retrieve every corpse. So _we_ do. We go out, we dig through the vomit, we find all of the lost souls who never made it home, and we give them what they deserve. You said you were of the 57th Expedition, right?"

She stopped my wheelchair and picked me up put my arm over her shoulder. "Can you think of anyone, that you'd like to see at peace?" she asked. I thought for a moment. "If so, I need you to tell me their badge numbers and, if we found them, I'll take you to them." she said. I thought for a moment and, after remembering them, I whispered Eld and Gunther's badge numbers into her ear. The walk to their stones was short, but it seemed to go on forever. Beth sat me down in front on them and then sat down next to me. I wanted to be strong, silent, I wanted to be a soldier for them, but soon enough the tears began to flow. Beth stood up, "I'll give you minute. And just so you know, they were in horrible condition when they came to us, but we cleaned them up and reassembled them before we put them in the ground." She patted me on the back and walked away; and, soon enough, I was alone with two of the three friends whom I failed to save:

"Hey guys…"

I pressed my hands hard over my eyes and felt my tears as they streamed out through my fingers.

"I'm so, so, so sorry…I failed the two of you. We were supposed to be a team, watching each other's backs, and I couldn't save either of you…"

I just sat there, sobbing to myself…and then Oluo crossed my mind.

"But I swear I'll save him, I'll save Oluo. No matter what, even if I have to crawl, I'll save him. And when I get back to the Walls, I promise that I'll make sure your grandfather and your lover know just how brave you two were."

I wiped my face and motioned for Beth to come get me.

Beth picked me up and walked me back to the wheelchair. "Hey Petty-kins…" she began. "Yes?" "…Who is Oluo?" I realized that I had said his name out loud, "_Damn it…_" I thought to myself. But, by the grace of God, as I was trying to come up with some sort of excuse for who Oluo was I heard a horn sound in the distance. "What the hell was that?" I asked. Beth looked towards the tunnel that lead back to the center of town, "That was the signal horn, Larkin is back."

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	12. Chapter 7: City Commander Larkin

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral

Chapter 7: City Commander Larkin

_*I was sitting in my farmhouse, just outside Dauper Village. I was sitting in my easy chair, knitting a new pair of baby booties. I put my needles down and rubbed my stomach. "My third child…" I thought to myself. I looked out into the field and saw my wonderful husband, walking towards me with a basket full of fresh watermelons. Levi knelt down and tenderly brought his lips to mine. He put his hands on my stomach, "So, what do you think it's going to be?" I shrugged, "I'm hoping for a girl…but I'd be happy with another boy." Then a horse and carriage pulled up. My two beautiful twin sons ran up to me. "Hey guys." I began, "Did you have fun spending time with your uncles today?" "Yeah!" my younger son began, "Uncle Oluo and Uncle Gunther took us fishing today and we caught a fish this big!" He extended out his arms to show how big his fish was. "Now go wash up" Levi implored, "Your Uncle Eld and Aunt Josephine are going to be here for dinner later." "Is Uncle Eren coming too?" my older son asked. "Yes, he is. So is your Aunt Hange" I said. I turned towards Levi, "Levi, I love you…" He looked me in the eye, "I love you too, PETRA!" I was shocked, "Sweetheart, why did you yell?" "What do you mean? I didn't yell PETRA! PETRA, WAKE UP!" I was scared, suddenly the ground began shaking and the Female Titan erupted from Levi's watermelon patch, it seized me by my waist, "LEVI! HELP ME! PLEASE, HELP ME!" The Female Titan squeezed my stomach. She squeezed it hard and blood spurted from my mouth. As she brought me towards her mouth I saw all of my squad mates, dying one by one. I turned and saw that the Female Titan had changed appearance. It grew giant, spiky horns and its teeth sharpened to points. She brought me up to her grizzly maw and I screamed, "NO. NO. NO. PLEASE! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"*_

"Petra?! Petra, wake up!" I suddenly felt a sharp, stinging pain on my cheek. I regained my composure and saw Beth. She had tears running down her cheeks and she was squeezing my shoulders so tightly. She rubbed my face and immediately kissed where she slapped me. "What happened?" I asked. "You've been screaming in bed for the past twenty minutes. I…I couldn't make you stop. My sedatives, my medical restraints, my attempts to wake you up…nothing would work." She sniffled and wiped her eyes, "I thought you were having a seizure…" I took a deep breath and rolled over. I must admit that, although I wanted my relationship with Beth to stay platonic, her bed was a lot more comfortable than the one in her clinic, so it was really worth it having her grope me for most of the night. It had been about a week since I was brought into the WMRG base (not counting the four days of unconsciousness), I was restless. I needed to get out there, to help Oluo, to get home, but despite the fact that he had been back for a week, Larkin had still yet to make time to see me. I was starting to feel really offended. I sat up and wiped Beth's face. Then Leo and Dominic walked in toting several coils of rope. "We got the rope to keep Petra from hurting herself sis!" Leo chimed. "Its okay" Beth responded, "She's awake now, everything's fine." Beth stood up and put on her sunglasses, "Now, you two go wash up and get ready for breakfast."

The children ran off and Beth turned to me, she grabbed my left wrist and tugged at the skin ever so slightly, "It's healing up quite nicely…" she grabbed my right arm and started messing with my fingers, asking again and again it certain pressure points hurt. She grinned at me, "We can take this cast off later too…and these…" she knocked on my leg casts, "…can come off in a few more days." She playfully tickled my exposed toes, but despite the fact that I could feel the tickle, I couldn't make my toes move away from it. "Beth…" I began, "…when is Larkin going to talk to me, I need to speak with him about something important…" Beth raised an eyebrow, "Is it about this mysterious Oluo…?" I had grown to trust Beth, but I still felt uneasy about talking about the Oluo situation out loud, "Yeah, it's something like that…"

Now I'm sure at this point, many of you are wondering why I didn't just out and out say what had happened to Oluo and just beg for help right there. The answer is simple: Levi had always told all of us to follow our personal intuitions and, despite the fact that I had grown to trust and respect Beth and her little brothers, I still felt uneasy about this place for some reason. Something was seriously unnerving me.

I sat there and allowed Beth to help me get dressed. She slipped on the day clothes she had gotten for me (a pressed blouse covered in tulips, a modest skirt that reached down to my shins, and a pair of comfortable, fluffy slippers with turtles on them) and then draped her bathrobe over my shoulders. Because my hands were healing so well she allowed me to wheel myself into the small dining room connected to her kitchen. I sat at the table and, while I waited for breakfast to come, I entertained Leo. He loved talking to me about the Scouts and hearing all of my Special Operations Squad stories. Beth and Dominic soon emerged from the kitchen, carrying with them plates full of freshly made pancakes. We sat there and ate and, after we were done, I tried talking to Dominic again. "Thank you for the pancakes…" I began, "…they were delicious." Dominic nodded at me and, after collecting all of the plates, retreated to the kitchen. I turned to Beth, "I've been here for a week…and he still hasn't talked to me once. Does he…hate me?" Beth laughed. She looked at me, "Dominic doesn't hate you…" her laugh slowly turned less hearty and became hollower, "He just…doesn't talk anymore…" I was confused. I wasn't going to ask, but Beth saw my curiosity and continued, "When the Purge occurred, everyone was scrambling for survival. The Titans didn't even give us enough time to get away from the gate. They attacked and we scattered. One of them got a hold of our mother and bit her head off, then it just threw the rest of her body on the ground like trash. My dad, Leo, and I made it into an abandoned building before the Titans caught sight of us; but Dominic was spotted. He ran and screamed and cried, until he eventually found a place to hide…" My eyes widened, "Where did he hide?" Beth squeezed her knees, "He curled up and hid under our Mother's corpse. He had to hide under it for about four hours. He couldn't move or scream or beg for help…he just had to lay there, until night fell and our Dad went to fetch him. He…hasn't said a word since." My jaw was practically stuck open. Beth continued, "We camped out in that building for two days. It was hell, cold and dark and terrifying, and there was no food or water. Then Larkin came and collected us, and then we came here." Beth looked at me and then regained her cheery smile and said, "That's right, Larkin! You wanted to see him right?" I nodded. "Well great…" she beamed, "…then you came come with me to the Well-Being Meeting. If Larkin won't make time for you, then I'll make him make time for you." I was puzzled, "Well-Being Meeting?" Beth winked at me, "Yeah, it's a meeting between the top officials of our little civilization. I'm the only doctor around here since Dad died, so I kind of always have an instant invite." Beth stood up and wheeled me over to the kitchen sink. She began to wipe syrup from my face and fixing my hair, "There! You look all spiffy now! Now let's go!" Beth wheeled me towards the door, "Yo Dom! Watch the house while I'm out!" Dominic shot a thumbs up out through his door. "Yo Leo! Watch Dom while I'm out!" "Kay!" Leo shouted, "Hey Dom! Did you here? I'm in charge now!" I giggled, I loved listening to Leo, it was fun to hear a kid just be a kid for once. "Now you two make sure you get ready for school!" she shouted. Then, Beth wheeled me out the front door and off we went to the Well-Being Meeting.

I hated being in a wheelchair, but the upside was that at least Beth tried to make it fun. Going from her house to the center of town required going down several hills, so anytime we came to one, she would jump onto the back of the wheelchair and ride down the hill, stopping just in time to avoid us crashing. Soon enough, we arrived in front of Larkin's office. It looked different with the lights on, the only places of the building where there were windows were the feathers on the Wings of Freedom. The Lights being on made them look like they were glowing. It made me feel really wistful. Beth wheeled us into the building and took me to the top floor. We went all the way to the room in the back, and that's when I met him for the first time. Adrian Larkin was a tall man, he had brownish-blonde hair streaked with gray, a tiny trimmed goatee growing out from under his bottom lip, and a large, prominent nose with an impact scar going across the bridge (it looked like someone hit him in the face with a rock). She wheeled me up to him and when he turned around, I got a good look at his eyes. One was blue and the other was brown, they both had the same glow to them that Commander Erwin's had. Larkin knelt down and held out his hand for me to shake, I grabbed it and shook it how Gunther taught me to shake hands (hard and strong, but reserved), Larkin returned the favor with a strong handshake and a satisfied grin. "To whom, do I owe the honor?" he asked. "My name is Petra Ral, I'm a Lieutenant of the Survey Corps." I responded. His eyes lit up, "Another Scout, in my city?!" he turned around and pointed to the Wings of Freedom on his jacket, "My word, so have the Scouts finally made it all the way out here?" He seemed extremely pulsed up by my presence, I hated to crush his hopes, but I couldn't lie to him, "No, the Scouts aren't here. The only reason I'm here is because my allies probably all consider me to be dead…" The thought that all of my friends thought me to be dead, I hate to constantly sound like a crybaby (I'm really not), but I really was reaching my limit as to how much sadness I could handle. The tears just started flowing, I couldn't make them stop. Larkin reached down and wiped my eyes with a handkerchief, "It's okay dear girl, you're in a safe place now. I swear by my oath as a Scout, I will do whatever it takes to help you!" That made me feel better, Larkin turned around and began walking towards a smaller room off to the left, "As soon as I'm done with this meeting…" he began, "…I will talk to you and Dr. Dugan personally and we will make things right!" He turned towards me and, as he was walking backwards, he saluted me: left fist on his chest, right hand behind his back. Soon enough, all of the representatives and Larkin's secretary were in the meeting room and I was all by myself.

The Well-Being Meeting took forever, luckily Larkin's office was full of strange antiquities that, if the plaques under them were to be believed, were dug up from underground. There were things that I recognized, such as: an old oil lantern, a large snow shovel, a nicely made golden chalice, and several older model rifles; there were also things I didn't recognize, such as: a mysterious wooden box with a wind-up handle, a needle, and a large golden funnel attached to it, a small, clear glass ball with several twisted wires in it, and what appeared to be a wheel, except the outside was covered in shoe rubber. I wheeled back to the wooden box and noticed a large, black disk next to it. I picked up the disk and placed it on the box, then I placed the needle onto the disk. I didn't know what to do next, so I did what seemed natural, I wound up the handle. Suddenly, a rich violin music began emanating from the tube. The sound cut out a couple of times, but still, this strange device was summoning music from nowhere, it was extraordinary.

Soon enough, the meeting was over. The towns various dignitaries flooded out of the room and, eventually, Larkin's secretary came out and motioned for me to come in. I grabbed onto the wheels of my chair and rolled myself into the meeting room. Larkin and Beth were sitting in the chairs towards the back of the room. Larkin was smoking a huge cigar and Beth was sitting next to him, holding her nose. I wheeled up next to him and he started talking, "Welcome Petra!" he began, "How are you doing, would you like one?" He pushed the cigar box towards me. "No thank you." I said, "Not healthy." Larkin nodded and removed the box from the table. He put out what was left of his cigar and we began talking. "So ma'am…how may the leader of this fine civilization help you?" Larkin interlaced his fingers and peered strait into my eyes. "Well…I need your help?" I said. "Hmmmm….and what do you need my help with, young lady?" he asked. I swallowed hard and began explaining. I told Larkin everything. EVERY. HORRID. DETAIL. He nodded occasionally. Beth, on the other hand, grew more and more horrified with every word. By the time I was done Beth was crying, tears and snot running down her face. Larkin separated his hands and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "Yes…" he began, "…I know of the bandits that took your friend." He sighed, "They work for a man who calls himself Tri-Horn. He leads another band of survivors from the Purge. He's a monster, in every sense of the word." Beth wiped away the tears and smiled at me, 'Don't worry though. Tri-Horn might be strong, but he's not that smart. We've snuck into his hideout to steal everything from med supplies to people of ours he's taken. It's easy!" I couldn't help but smile, "Really? It's that easy?! That's wonderful!" Beth and I were shaking with joy, and eventually Beth spoke up again, "Yeah, we'll get together a small stealth force, go to hideout, and save your fri…" "Hold it, Dr. Dugan" Larkin interrupted. We both stopped and looked over at him. He continued, "I'm sorry, m'dear. I cannot approve this mission, I'm afraid that your friend Olio…" "Oluo." I growled. "…yes, yes, Oluo. I'm afraid Oluo isn't of any importance to our society. Therefore, I can't allow any of our precious resources to go towards saving him. He is…I believe the word is 'inconsequential'. I was furious, I could barely hold myself still, I was shaking and gripping the armrests of my wheelchair hard enough to bend them, "Inconsequential? What…the FUCK…kind of Scout…could declare…?" He stood up and got right in my face, "You listen to me little lady. When I was a Scout in the Survey Corps I reached the rank of Captain. And now…now I lead this city of refugees. I will not be commanded by some uppity little girl who has the nerve to make up a story about a 'Sentient Female Titan' to cover for the fact that she couldn't handle herself in the field." He shoved my wheelchair back to the wall. Beth spoke up, "Larkin wait…this Oluo could prove to be useful. He could help you out in the field cuz, unlike Petra, his legs work! If I could heal him he…" Larkin grabbed Beth by the shirt, "What did I tell you about questioning me Doctor?" Beth responded meekly, "…to not to…" "Yes…" Larkin sneered, "…to not to. And, Dr. Dugan, if you ever question me like that in front of any citizens again…I might just have to find a 'proper' guardian for Leo and Dominic." Beth clamped her hands over her mouth, she mumbled, "…you ca-…" Larkin glared at her, and she immediately swallowed the rest of her sentence. Larkin turned towards me, "And you, I have tried to be civil. But you are in my city, and I will not be defied." I spat my words at him, "I…I don't need you to help save Oluo. I'll go do it myself!" Larkin quickly responded, "Absolutely not!" My eyes widened, "Pardon?!" Larkin wiped his brow, "You, ma'am, are crippled. If you were to get captured, which is VERY likely, Tri-Horn could torture you for information on our weaknesses." "WHAT INFORMATION?!" I screamed, "I DON'T KNOW **ANYTHING** ABOUT YOU PEOPLE!" Larkin responded, "You do not know what you might know. YOU. WILL. STAY. PUT!" "I don't have to listen to you…" I sniped. Larkin got even closer to my face and whispered "If you try anything…I will have you thrown into the deepest, darkest hole I can find…and being crippled will be the least of your worries." Larkin smoothed his hair, "Now then…" he snapped his fingers at Beth, "You! Take her out of my office." Beth stood up, but kept her head down. She grabbed my chair and, although I tried to further protest, she covered my mouth with her free hand and almost ran out of Larkin's office. As we were leaving Larkin's secretary looked up from her paper and droned out, "Thank you for your patronage in the office of the City Commander. We do hope you enjoyed your political interactions."

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	13. Chapter 8: Restoration

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral

Chapter 8: Restoration

We made it back to Beth's house. She pushed me into the door and then slammed and locked it behind her. I was still in shock. I sat there in my wheelchair limply. I couldn't even cry anymore; I just sat there in stunned silence. Beth, meanwhile, had run into the bathroom. I heard her vomiting and sobbing. Two hours passed and Beth still hadn't come out. I was glad that Leo and Dominic were at school, I didn't want them to see this. Eventually, I gave up waiting for Beth and wheeled myself into her room. I got out of my wheelchair and laid down, I couldn't get comfortable, I suddenly felt even less safe than when I was stuck in the hospital in Gongoroshiro. Soon enough, I heard Beth shuffle up behind me; she flopped into the bed and buried her face into my back. The feeling of her nose sticking into one of the places where bone came out stung, but I was more concerned with the fact that she was crying so uncontrollably. I felt wet spots developing around her eyes and nose.

After a while of just lying there, Beth finally spoke:

"You…" _*sniffle*_ "…you must hate me, don't you…?"

"Beth, why would I hate you?"

"Because…" _*Sniffle. Cough. Cough.*_ "…because I got…" _*Cough*_ "…I got your hopes up for…for nothing…" _*Even more heavy crying*_

I turned over, "No. No, I don't hate you!" I rubbed her face, "I don't."

_*She broke down even more*_ "I'm so sorry; I wanted so badly to help you! But, I can't let him take them from me…they're all I've got…" She leaned over the side of the bed and vomited into the trash can.

Beth grabbed me and held me close. I hugged her around her head and just let her cry. Soon enough, she had sobbed herself to sleep. After a while, I heard a noise coming from the door. I rolled over Beth and got to my chair, I wheeled out into the main room and let Leo and Dominic in. Dom gave me his standard non-verbal greeting and went into his room. Leo yelled that he had to pee and rushed to the bathroom. I went into the kitchen to make them a snack. Dom emerged from his junk room and began to eat his sandwich, and then Leo came out of the bathroom. He looked up at me and said, "Petra? Did Mr. Larkin yell at Beth again? I looked down at Leo in shock. "What makes you say that?" I stuttered out nervously. Leo twiddled his thumbs, "Well…the bathroom is covered in vomit. Beth is all strong and brave and stuff, but she gets sick when he yells at her. It stresses her out." I was flabbergasted. How often must Larkin threaten to take Leo and Dom away if they're able to tell when he's been yelling at Beth? Dominic shot me an angry look. He didn't seem mad at me, but I could tell that he was furious at something. Eventually, Beth stumbled out of her room; she grabbed her brothers and held them close. She clutched onto them so tightly, I don't think the Colossal Titan could pull her from them. Leo kissed Beth on the cheek, "Don't worry Beth; we'll always be together." He smiled and the light suddenly flooded back into her eyes. She put them both down and then put some coffee on to boil. I felt terrible for putting Beth through all of this. I grabbed her by her hands, pulled her down to my eye level, and apologized several times over. Beth went over to the counter and got us both coffee, she sat down and she started talking:

"Please…don't apologize anymore. Larkin was making threats and bullying long before you got here." She took a sip. "I…I just never thought it comprehensible that he could refuse his own kind…"

I mumbled under my breath, "…I honestly don't think that prick was ever…" I stopped myself before I finished.

Dom slapped the table; he pointed at me and nodded.

"Wait…" I questioned "You don't think he was a Scout either?"

Dom shook his head.

Beth spoke, "Dom has never believed in Larkin." She took a bigger sip, "I don't know what to think. I mean…he does have the jacket and the ODM Gear."

"That doesn't mean shit…" I said. I looked down at my legs.

Beth threw her cup into the sink. "I don't know…he even knows the salute…"

I stared at my legs with utter contempt; I raised my fist into the air and punched my knee.

"Petra! Why did you do that?! They'll never heal properly if you hit them." Beth implored.

"Damn these legs!" I screamed, "If they worked I could save Oluo myself!"

Dom stood up and poked my right thigh; he looked at me and wiggled his fingers in the air.

I was confused, but Beth spoke up, "He's asking if you can feel him touching you."

I nodded and then Dom sprung up and ran to his room.

"Where's he going?" I asked.

Dom came running back out and shoved a large, rolled up piece of paper in Beth's face.

Beth read them and then said, "Dom…Your hearts in the right place but…"

"What?!" I asked, "What is it?!"

Beth had a look of concern on her face, "There's a tiny, tiny, tiny chance that these plans could…make you…walk…again…"

I sat up straight, "WHAT!" A huge smile grew onto my face, "I could…walk again…?"

Beth tugged at her shirt, "Yes, but…"

"LET'S DO IT!" I screamed.

Dom nodded, grabbed Leo, and ran out the front door.

"Oh Beth, I'm so excited!"

"Yeah…me too…"

Five hours later, Leo came back and motioned for us to follow him. I was practically floating. My legs. I was going to be able to use my legs again. I looked back at Beth with a look of giddy glee on my face. She was barely able to force a weak smile. "What's up with you?!" I asked, "I'm gonna walk again! Aren't you happy for me?!" Beth pinched the bridge of her nose and mumbled out, "I'll…explain when we get there."

Dom's Workshop was amazing, even if it was built in the dump. I looked around and saw many amazing things: there were carts with blades on the bottom for harvesting crops, giant metal clamps for holding open Titan jaws, and those same explosive hooks that Beth and Dom used to save me. Soon enough we reached the back of the shop. Dom was hooking up several bundles of wire to what appeared to be a broken bicycle with a thick strip of wool instead of a chain. He then hooked the other end of the wires to several metal poles, slightly submerged in a pool of water, leaving several feet of it lying out next to the puddle. He looked at me, smirked, and shot thumbs up. "Cool invention!" I said, "Now…about my legs…" I gripped my knees in anticipation. Beth placed her hand onto my shoulder, "Cool down a bit. I need to explain something to you first…" Beth pulled out several charts and explained, in detail, exactly what Dom would be doing to me:

"I'm sorry…Lightning WHAT?!"

"Lightning Shock Therapy, Dom and I have been experimenting with it. Results have been…" Beth coughed into her fist, "…limited."

"What do you mean by 'limited'?"

"You would be the…uh…first human we tried this on…"

"So…what? What does that mean?"

"It means that, basically, we're gonna be shocking your legs until it either: a) Kills You, or b) Fixes your Legs."

"_Kills me…?_"

"Yeah, it could throw you straight into cardiac arrest."

I refrained. "Kill me?" I thought to myself.

Beth knelt in front of me, "You don't have to do this…" she said, "…you can live with us for the rest of your life. We'll keep you safe and fed and loved and everything!"

Leo smiled at me, Dom just stared. Oluo crossed my mind, all of my memories of him flooded through my thoughts all at once. Then Levi came to mind. I remembered his words to Eren, "I can't tell you whether your decision is the right one or the wrong one. All I can say is that you need to feel right about it."

"Dom, Beth…" I turned, "…let's do this."

Beth laid me down on the giant stone slab in the middle of the room. She shooed Leo out of the room and then unbuttoned my pants. She removed my pants and my underwear (but she was nice enough to place a privacy pad over my sensitive areas) and then placed a large steel divider, with rubber insulation, across my waist (it looked like I had been cut in half). "Why…do I have to be naked from the waist down?" Beth came up to my upper half, "The electricity could set your clothes on fire. That would be a, relatively, horrible way to die." Beth proceeded to grab my wrists and tie them down to the table. She grabbed a thick cloth and laid it next to my face. Beth walked out of the room for a moment and Dom walked up to me. He gave me a pat on the shoulder and smirked, and then he ran back to the bike and started adjusting more wires. Beth came back, holding a bottle of what appeared to be hard liquor. "Do you drink?" she asked. "No. Why?" I questioned. "Well, you might appreciate the lucid feeling. I can't give you any morphine, you need the feeling in your legs for this to work." She uncorked the bottle, "C'mon, open up!" I opened my mouth and Beth poured half of the bottle in. It burned my throat a little, but it tasted good. "You get the other half if you live!" she joked. Then she picked up the cloth next to my head, "Open up again." "You're gagging me?" I asked. "Not a gag…necessarily." She began. "I suppose you could say that the electric current running through your body could make you bite your tongue off (Grim thoughts of Oluo flooded into my head); but if it makes you feel better, I guess you could say I just think you look cute all tied up like this." She laughed and winked at me. "Funny." I deadpanned. I opened my mouth wide and Beth jammed the cloth in, she tightly knotted it behind my head and then got to work on my legs. I looked as she and Dom started wrapping wires around thin metal spikes. Once all of the spikes were properly attached, Beth pulled out a map of pressure points and began to insert them into my legs. They didn't hurt; they felt like a hard pinch more than anything else. Beth came over and grasped my hand, "Are you _**sure**_ you want to do this?" I fiercely shook my head yes. "We can still back out…" I shook my head no. Beth squeezed harder; "Okay…" she leaned down and planted a kiss on my forehead, "I love you…a lot…even if you don't love me the same way…" She let go of my hand and slipped a thick pair of rubber gloves on. She lowered her sunglasses and gave Dom the go ahead. Dom lowered his goggles and shot me one last thumbs up. Then he began peddling the bike. I felt nothing at first, then the wires started sparking and, suddenly, my legs were on fire. I was jerking around, my arms kept trying to flop around, and my jaw chattered uncontrollably. I heard Beth yelling several orders over the sound of the electricity. I only caught pieces, things like "faster", "slower", "keep it up", etc. The pain wasn't any better, everything hurt. I was being cooked on the inside. Foamed started erupting from my mouth, my vision was either becoming too bright or going completely dark. Eventually I couldn't help it, I screamed. I didn't scream for her to stop, I just screamed. Beth saw I was in pain and she looked concerned, then her jaw dropped. I heard her loud and clear this time, "DOM! DOM STOP! STOP PEDDLING RIGHT NOW!" That's when I realized that I couldn't feel my left arm, the fingers were barely moving and, soon enough, I blacked out.

I woke up to the feeling of foreign lips on mine, I opened my eyes and saw Levi his dull eyes sparkling, a heroic grin on his face, and then he leaned in and kissed me. It was bliss. Then I snapped into reality. I came to and saw Beth, her lips on mine, blowing air into my lungs and pressing down on my chest. "Oh god, oh god, oh god! Petra! Please wake up! Please!"She was crying. I coughed and a mixture of foam and spit came shooting out. "Beth…I'm okay…I think" I wheezed out. I shakily sat up and rubbed my face. I tried to gain awareness of my surroundings, and then I felt a burning sensation. I looked down and saw that there was a burning scrap of paper lying on my left ankle. I immediately retracted my leg up to my arm and patted out the fire. I turned to Beth and made a joke asking her if she knew a doctor who could treat a burn. Then I realized that I moved my **leg** up to my arm. Beth and I both looked down at it; I focused a bit harder and got the other one to move. In and out and in and out and in and out and in and out. Over and over again. Then I started laughing, I started laughing and cheering and crying. Beth stood up and helped me to my feet and Dom ran over to me. I grabbed them both, picking them up and squeezing them tight. Leo came in, having heard the cheering, I grabbed him, picked him up, and started jumping up and down until I eventually lost balance and fell over. I looked at the three of them and started crying tears of joy, "Thank you…Thank you all so much…" I broke down and started sobbing, "…I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you all for this!" Beth started snickering to herself. I looked up at her. "Weeelllllllllllllllll…" she began, "…if you don't have money you could always…kiss me to pay me…" she started laughing, "No, no I'm just kidd-" I grabbed Beth by the back of her head and rammed her face into mine. I kissed her as long and strong and sweetly as I could (I might have gone too far. My tongue briefly went into her mouth). I pulled my face away from hers and she was frozen in place, blushing. I stood up, hugged Leo as tightly as I could, tussled Dom's hair, put on my pants, and ran all the way back to Beth's house. Leo and Dom followed behind, pushing the still star-struck Beth in my former wheelchair.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	14. Chapter 9: Escape

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral

Chapter 9: Escape

I was sitting in my wheelchair, in Beth's kitchen. I was nursing a cup of coffee and playing 5-card Stud with Dom and Leo. Leo seemed confused by the rules of the game, but Dom had already taken me for twenty grapes and six pieces of candy. Little bastard was born to break peoples banks. Larkin's thugs came walking out of Beth's storage room; she was kissing their asses as much as she could. They were being really rude, pushing Beth around and rifling through all of her stuff. Eventually they left after, of course, stopping to give me an implied threat. This was getting old, ever since the Well-Being Meeting Larkin's thugs would show up every day to make sure that we were behaving. They exited, making sure to slam the door as hard as they could. I stood up from my wheelchair, "Dumbasses." I snarked, "Wouldn't know what to look for if it stood up and punched them in the face." Dom snickered to himself. Beth shot us an intrigued look, "Does that mean your gonna stand up and punch 'em in the face soon?" I bent over and started doing toe touches. Beth began making herself a sandwich and started making provocative comments about my butt. She whistled in approval when I started doing squats. It had been two weeks since my legs were "recharged" I was doing well, working to make my muscles strong again. Soon I'd be able to go retrieve Oluo, and then…then I wasn't so sure. I had grown to love Beth and her brothers like family; I didn't want to just go home and leave them like this. I fell back and started doing sit-ups. Dom stood up, having gotten all of mine and Leo's grapes and candy and retreated to his room. Beth finished the last bite of her sandwich and spoke up. "I think…" she began, "…it's about time we went and got your friend."I rolled over, jumped up, and looked at her. "We?" I asked. "Well of course!" she cheered, "We can't just let you go out of here alone. The three of us are going to help you get to Tri-Horn's hideout. I need to steal some med supplies anyway." I asked, "How are we getting there?" That was the first actual time I had wondered about the fate of my ODM Gear. Dom emerged from his room holding two sets of it: mine and one covered in various patches and designs. Dom tossed me mine and tossed the other to Beth. "You ODM?" I questioned. She nodded and began to put on the Gear. Dom went into his room and came out holding two sets of blades. He put one set into my Gear and one set into Beth's. She smiled and offered up a high-five, I took it. "What about them?" I asked pointing towards Dom and Leo. Dom smirked and Leo spoke up, "We're gonna take one of Dom's new inventions!" Dom placed some blueprints on the table and showed me his idea: the explosive hook cannon mounted on the back of his harvester cart with the peddling system of a bicycle to make it move autonomously. It looked brilliant. "When are we going to do this?" I asked. "Tomorrow." Beth said, "But first, I have one more thing to do." Beth handed Dom her ODM Gear and left for her office, "I'll be home later…" she beamed, "…the three of you stay safe." I handed Dom my Gear and, after sending him and Leo off to school, I decided to exercise a little more and then take a shower. Nothing of much consequence happened for the rest of the day: Leo and Dom got home, I made them dinner (because Beth had a lot of patients and was running late), I got them to take a bath, and then I put them to bed. I stayed up a little later, eventually Beth got home, she made us dinner and we talked, then I went to bed while Beth took a shower. Beth got out of the shower, got into her nighty, and snuggled into the bed next to me. I turned over and her lips met mine. Ever since I had kissed Beth in gratitude, she had been getting more and more casual about being intimate with me. Honestly, I didn't want to make a romantic relationship with Beth, but I didn't mind the occasional kiss. Our mouths separated and we talked a little, about the past and the future, about life. I told her about my crush on Levi, she told me about a cute patient that she had met today. Eventually we started kissing again. I stopped mid kiss and pulled back, "You…You can not mention this to Oluo when you meet him." She lifted her hand up to my face, crossed her fingers, and then she promised me. I rolled my eyes. She planted one last kiss on me, and then she wrapped herself into her blanket and fell asleep. I was alone with my thoughts. I kept thinking about Oluo, how willing he was to give himself up for me. If I had listened to him, I'd probably be home right now. Mom and Dad would be doting over me, Levi would be acting detached, Hange would probably still be looking for a way to fix my legs, I would never have met Beth or Dom or Leo. I took stock over every injury that I had: Beth fixed my legs, she fixed my back, she fixed my hands, and she fixed my left eye. The only thing still wrong with me was my missing right boob. I raised my hand in the air and clenched my fist. I whispered to myself, "I swear Oluo, I'm getting you and we're going home…" I looked over at Beth's sleeping form, a little trail of drool going down her face, "…and I'm bringing them with us." I lowered my arm, turned over, and went to sleep, ready to face tomorrow with swords drawn.

I woke up early that morning. I looked over and noticed, strangely, that Beth was already gone. I rolled over, stood up, and plopped into my wheelchair. I was so ready for the day I would never have to sit in that stupid thing again. I wheeled out and saw Larkin's thugs rifling through things, drinking Beth's coffee and complaining about the taste. I really hated the two of them. Eventually, the scumbags stood up and, after one of them broke Beth's favorite cat mug, they stormed out of the house. Beth came out and smiled as I was picking up the pieces. "Sorry about your mug." I apologized. Beth shrugged:

"Take off your shirt." She said.

"My shirt?

"Yeah, and your bra."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

I did as I was told, a removed my outer wear and, soon enough, I was sitting in the wheelchair with my arms covering my now bare chest. Beth produced a strange harness and proceeded to buckle it onto me.

I moved and stretched, "What is this thing?"

"You're gonna love it."

Beth put a large, soft, rubber mound into the open space on the right side of my chest and reapplied my bra.

"There! How ya like it Mrs. Two-Boobs?"

I adjusted them and smiled, "Thank you Beth!" I put my shirt back on, "I feel normal again!"

"Good. It's good to see you happy!"

Leo came rushing into the kitchen, "Here Petra!" The little guy handed me my Survey Corps jacket. The holes were patched up and all of the missing buttons were replaced. Leo pulled out his wagon and put mine and Beth's Gear on the table. He smiled, "I gotta go now, Dom needs me!" It bent over and hugged Leo tight, "Thanks, Little Man!" He grinned and ran out the front door. I stood up and Beth handed me a wrapped up brown package, "These came off of your friends, Gunther and Eld, I imagine they'd want you to have them." I walked into Beth's room and, after changing, I came out wearing Gunther and Eld's clothes. Beth had refitted them to be in my size, but they still smelled like Gunther and Eld. I grabbed my Survey Corps Jacket off of the table and, after putting it and my ODM Gear on, I looked over into the mirror. I grinned at myself; I was officially a Scout again. Beth put on her ODM, "Okay…" she began, "Let's do this!"

We started out slow; Beth peered her head out of the door and looked around to make sure Larkin's thugs weren't lurking about. She motioned for me to follow her. We tiptoed out the door and into a side tunnel next to the house. The tunnel hadn't been used for years, it was full of cobwebs. We reached the other end of the tunnel and we ended up behind the fruit vendor stand in the center of town. We stopped and I noticed that Beth had my wheelchair collapsed and strapped to her back. "We have to handle this creatively…" she whispered. She unfolded the wheelchair and locked everything in place, "Sit." I sat down and she spread a blanket of my lap and my ODM Gear, and then she put her ODM Gear into a basket and covered the top with fruit. After handing the fruit vendor a few bucks, she started pushing me towards the town's main entrance tunnel, the tunnel that led to the exit lift. We were going to wait around there for Dom and Leo. We reached town square when we were accosted by them. Larkin's two thugs caught us, one grabbed Beth by the hair, the other grabbed hold of my wheelchair and they pushed us into an ally. "What we have 'ear Gog?" said the bald one with the axe. "I'uuno, Magog", said the one with a Mohawk and a broadsword, "No wait, yeah I do, these two is sneakin' about, so's we gots an excuse ta kills 'em we do!" They both laughed and drew their weapons. I smirked and looked at Beth, "Sneaking time over?" Beth sighed, "Sneaking time over." I sprang up and shot one of my hooks into Gog's arm; I reeled him in by his shoulder and sliced him across the face. Magog swung his axe at me, splitting my hair as I backed off. I was not in the mood for these two today, I shot my hook upwards, latching a nearby cliff face. I swung through the air as Magog turned around, trying to keep sight of me. In the intervening moments, Beth managed to slip on her Gear. She fired her hooks into Magog's back stammering him long enough for me to swing in and lop off his head. I landed and high-fived Beth; she grabbed my hand, lowered it, looked me in the eye, and bluntly said, "I want to kiss you so badly right now." I leaned in and pecked her on the upper lip. Unfortunately, while I was distracted, Gog stood up and ran into the building that we were next to. I wanted to give chase, but Beth stopped me. "We have to go." She said, "Gog is going to alert Larkin. We need to get to the gate right now!" Beth and I, having already gone through the trouble of killing Magog, decided to forego covert ops and just ODM'd to the main gate. As we were zipping to it, Larkin's enforcers started unloading their rifles at us. I got a good look at Beth's skills during that firefight. She was able to fly around the bullets with as much ease as I was. She zipped up next to me and I asked, "Who taught you?!" She smirked, "I taught me!" She fired one of her hooks into the canopy that covered the entrance to the butchers shop, she ripped it from its moors and flung it at the gunners, knocking them over and dazing them.

The gate was in sight. We were zipping towards it at high speeds, the poor ignorant civilians below cheering as if we were putting on a show. We shot into the tunnel and, after a little ways travel, I heard Larkin's voice behind me. I turned around as he zipped up. He was furious, and he yelled at us, "I WARNED YOU TWO! THERE IS NO TURNING BACK NOW, PREPARE FOR YOUR PUNISHMENT!" Larkin came zipping up quickly; he drew his swords and swung them at my face. The sad part is that I didn't even need to duck; Larkin was barely keeping himself steady and, more embarrassingly he was swinging his swords like a child (That isn't really fair, Leo could've taken him). I zipped over him and landed on his back. I raised my fist into the air and hammered the back on his head. Larkin hits the ground hard and started rolling. I landed feet first and slid over to Beth's side. Larkin stood up and grabbed his profusely bleeding nose. I ran over to him and punched him in the stomach; I grabbed his blades and shoved them into my Gear. Larkin took a swing at me; I grabbed his fist and flipped him over my shoulder onto the ground. Beth came over to me and pulled me off of him. I look down and saw Larkin clutching his face and his broken shoulder. Beth and I backed up as he stood up. He started screaming, "HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY ME?! I am of a higher rank in the Scouts than you, I am a Corporal of Humanities Greatest Defensive Force! I only want what's best for the people of this city! And to protect them…" Larkin raised his hand and a firing squad came running up, "…you WILL die and Dr. Dugan will go back to her job, even if I have to chain her up in her office!" I raised my swords in defense as the squad raised their rifles. Larkin narrowed his eyes at the both of us, "Any last words, Petra?" I stared him straight in the eye, "Before, when you presented yourself to me you said you were a Captain, now you're a Corporal?" I stifled a laugh, "All you are…is a FRAUD!" Larkin gritted his teeth "Ready…" I tensed up; ready to launch myself at them so Beth could make a break for it. Larkin flared his nostrils at us, "FIRE!" Suddenly a large hook attached itself to the arch over the tunnel entrance, and explosion ran up the fuse and blew up the arch, scattering rocks everywhere. Dom and Leo rode up on Dom's invention scattering the firing squad. Dom and Leo jumped out, both of them holding shovels. Dom pushed Beth and I onto the lift and then activated it, making sure to break the lever in the process. Then he and Leo stood in the firing squads way. Leo looked up at us, "Have fun saving your friend Petra!" Dom shot us both thumbs up. I heard Larkin screaming at the firing squad, "What are you fools doing?! FIRE?!" Thankfully I heard the gunners immediately shoot the idea down. It was refreshing to know that those people were decent enough not to shoot children. I heard Larkin yell, "Fine! But they are both under arrest until further notice!" My final site of Leo and Dom before the lift got too high up were the both of them being chained up. It was nauseating. Soon enough, the lift reached the surface and, for the first time in a while, I felt the wind on my face. Beth and I activated our ODM Gear and flew off in the direction of Tri-Horn's hideout. I was sure that this time, I would save Oluo.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	15. Chapter 10: Vengeance

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral

Chapter 10: Vengeance

Freedom. That's what the wings on my jacket stood for to so many people. I never quite got it before, I mean: How could venturing into the Titan's territory ever be considered free? But, having been restricted to a life of living in abandoned buildings and caves for nearly two months, I finally got it. I soared through the air, zipping from one tree to the next. I bounced off limp branches and landed feet first off the sides of trees. I was laughing my ass off the entire time. Then I saw two titans: a six-meter and an eight-meter. I zipped to them, deftly avoiding their wretched fingers and flying right by their hideous faces; then, with one swift motion, I flew behind them and slashed out their napes with two quick slashes. The titan's blood spurted all over me coating me in quickly evaporating red. I stood on their corpses, victorious, and screamed, "Petra Ral is back baby! HELL YEAH!" I looked over and saw that Beth had managed three other titans while I was celebrating. I ran over to her and hugged her as tightly as I could. I nattered on for several minutes about how happy I was to be back to normal. I stopped celebrating and finally took a look at Beth's face. She looked uneasy, even a little nauseous, as she stared back in the direction of the WMRG base. I suddenly felt dreadful. I turned Beth's face towards mine and said, "If you want to go back for them, we can go back. Oluo's been waiting for a while; he could wait for a little longer while we save them." Beth closed her eyes and squeezed the bridge of her nose. She looked down at me and a spark of resolution flared in her eyes, "Dom and Leo will be fine. Not everyone there is a much of a scumbag as Larkin. The worst that'll happen is they'll be held prisoner while we are gone." I grabbed her cheek in-between my index finger and thumb, "After we save Oluo, we'll save them. Then the three of you can come home with us." Beth flinched, and then looked away from me. "Something wrong?" I asked. "No. Nothing." She said uncomfortably, "...it's…nothing…" Beth looked at me and said, "If we're going to find your friend, we'll need to find one of Tri-Horn's raider caravans to figure out where his latest hideout is." "You mean…you don't know?" I asked. Beth responded, "Tri-Horn moves every so often in order to avoid the titans massacring his group. But don't worry; it shouldn't be that hard to find some of his dumb muscle."

After an afternoon of searching we finally found them; a group of Tri-Horn's thugs. They were sitting around a fire, rifling through boxes of goods that they had gathered up. They were armed to the teeth, each had a rifle and two of them had ODM Gear. Beth and I perched in a tree, observing from a distance. Beth grabbed my shoulder, "We'll follow them back. Then we'll sneak into their base and get Oluo and the supplies that I need." She turned my head towards hers and smiled, I kissed her. "I owed you that from our fight with Gog and Magog." I said. She silently giggled. Soon enough, they began to pack up and load into their cart. Then I heard something that made my blood boil, "Hey Dino! We're leaving soon, wake up!" And then I saw him, the same bandit who shoved a rifle into my mouth. He emerged from the wagon, yawned and stretched, and then he turned around and I noticed, to my horror and rage, he was wearing Oluo's jacket. I recognized it as Oluo's; it had a tear in the bottom hemming from when his horse stepped on him. I was seething with rage; Beth noticed and tried to calm me. She rubbed my back and cooed calming words into my ear. Then the bastard sneezed, splattering the sleeve of the jacket with his disgusting snot, and I snapped.

I jumped from the tree, screaming like an animal. Before they could react I took down two of them, landing on one's neck and slicing the others shoulder. A third guy drew his rifle on me, but Beth landed behind him and impaled him through the stomach. Dino attempted to draw his blades but I kicked him in the chest. Then I stomped his knee. Then I punched him square in the face. I grabbed his shirt, "Do you remember me?!" He looked terrified and shook his head no. I punched him in the mouth and smeared his blood on my lower jaw, "How about now?!" He was legitimately terrified, but still shook his head no. I threw him to the ground and clasped my hands behind my back. He stood up and I head-butted him, "NOW?!" His eyes widened, "You're…that girl who couldn't walk…But how?!" I ignored him, stomping directly on his crotch, "That doesn't matter!" I yelled, practically foaming at the mouth, "Where is my friend?! WHERE? IS? OLUO?!" I kick him in the head. He cowers, "H-how should I know?" I grab his greasy long hair and smash his face into the ground. "You're wearing his jacket!" I punch the back of his head and lift him by his hair, "TAKE OFF HIS JACKET!" He initially reaches to remove the jacket, but then he smirks, "Looks like you got bigger problems." I turned around to see an 8-meter Titan raising its fist into the air. I maneuver around it; then, with a quick zip, I kill it. I looked up from the Titan's corpse to a sight that truly killed me on the inside, while I was distracted, the bandits rushed Beth. She sat there, in their wagon. Her hands were bound and she had a knotted cloth wedged between her teeth. Dino removed Oluo's jacket and tossed it out of the moving cart, "Keep the rag, I got a doctor!" I attempted to follow, but was ambushed by another Titan. By the time I killed it, the wagon was gone and so was Beth.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	16. Chapter 11: The Rescue Operations Squad

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral

Chapter 11: The Rescue Operations Squad

I walked back into the cave leading to the Wall Maria Resilience Group. I half expected to get shot, I almost didn't care. I walked in, dejectedly holding Oluo's jacket, tears streaming down my face. Another friend, I lost another friend. The image of Beth, restrained and scared, ran through my head. I arrived at the arch that Dom and Leo blew up. "Oh god…" I thought, "Dom and Leo." I felt sick thinking about them. I walked through the debris, straight into Gog. "Well well well…" He said pulling his axe, "If it ain't tha bitch 'oo killed me bruv." He charged me, "Prepare ta die ya worthless skank!"

I strode into Larkin's office, I looked over and saw Dom and Leo, tightly bound to wooden chairs. Dom's face was bloody. Larkin stood in anger and yelled at me, "How the hell did you get back in?!" I threw Gog's severed hands at Larkin's feet, "Someone should go clean that up, that sort of mess could be upsetting to certain people." Dom's eyes widened, Leo entered adoring fan mode, "SO COOL!" I stepped forward to Larkin; he fell on his ass and began to crawl away. Leo cheered at me, "You are so cool Petra! Did you and Beth get your friend back?" He looked so excited. I looked at him and put my head down, "No." Dom and Leo both got a scared look on their faces. Leo spoke up, "Where's Beth Petra?" Tears began streaming down his face. Dom struggled against his bonds, heaving in and out deeply. He looked like I just shot him. Larkin wasn't helping, "YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF TRASH! YOU GOT OUR ONLY DOCTOR KILLED!" He was seething. I ignored him and began untying Dom and Leo. They both collapsed on the floor. Larkin was still raging, "YOU CALL YOURSELF A SCOUT! YOU'RE NOTHING! IF I WAS YOUR SUPERIOR OFFICER I WOULD DISCHARGE YOU SO HARD YOUR-" Dom ran up and punched Larkin in the face, knocking out a tooth in the process. Then he turned to me and hit me in the stomach. I fell to the floor and got a good look behind his grimy goggles, they were slowly filling with tears. Leo spoke up, "Is Beth dead?" he asked hollowly. I bow my head, "No. I got distracted by two Titans and…Tri-Horn's forces took her…" I began to weep to myself, "I was so focused on revenge…and now she's suffering for it…" I curled up on the floor, my head between my knees. I cried, tears streaming, "I don't know what to do…" Dom walked up to me, he rubbed my stomach where he punched me. "We save her." I looked up at the unfamiliar voice; I looked around, not seeing anyone new. Dom grabbed my face and made me look him in the eyes, "We save her…and Oluo. And we do it together this time!" Larkin tried to speak against this, "You will do no such thing! I am still the superior officer here and I…" Dom went up to Larkin, "You. Aren't. A. Scout. You've never been a Scout. You're a disgrace to the soldier you stole that jacket from. And don't say I don't know anything. I remember the face of every Scout who came with us on the Purge and you weren't one of them!" Larkin shrank. I stand up and walk up next to Dom, Leo stands next to me. All three of us salute Larkin: Right hand over our hearts, left hand behind our backs. I look at him and begin to lecture, in my most "Erwin" voice, "A Scout isn't made by a uniform, an ODM Gear, a sword, or a salute. You can posture all you want, but you will NEVER be a Scout unless you take one lesson to your core. We give away our hearts for humanity. We don these wings, these Wings of Freedom, and go out and risk our lives for those who need us. Be they civilians or our comrades, as long as we can fight, we fight for them." Dom and Leo both nod. I stop saluting and turn around. "The three of us are going to get Beth and Oluo. If that uniform meant anything to you other than a position of power, you'll join us." The three of us marched out; heads held high, leaving Larkin curled on the floor.

Our first stop is Dom's workshop. We gathered all of his weapons and every invention that he had that could help us: an Attack Buggy with a catapult, two ramshackle sets of ODM Gear, a case of jarred, crude oil with fuses sticking out of the top, an arrow launching missile battery, and something Leo referred to as "Titan bait". Then we stopped by Beth's house so Leo and Dom could change into something more protective. Then we went to Beth's office to assure her patients that she would be back shortly. Finally, we arrived at the gate. Gog's dismantled corpse was still lying on the floor. Dom stared at it while covering Leo's eyes. He looked at me, "Brutal." I laugh, "I learned from the best! I wish Levi was here…" Dom patted me on the back and nodded at me. "I got ya. I'll buck up." We got to the gate when we heard ODM Gear behind us. We turned around to see Larkin coming up. He was huffing from the effort of using ODM Gear. He ran up to us. Dom stared at him, "Can we help you?" Larkin breathed in deep, "I know where Tri-Horn's latest base is...*huff huff*…I'll take you there." And so we set off, four Scouts (Okay. Three and a half.), to go save our friends.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	17. Chapter 12: Assault on Tri-Horn Pt1

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral

Chapter 12: Assault on Tri-Horn (Part 1)

It took us three hours to get to the base where Tri-Horn was holding our loved ones. We pulled up in Dom's motorized attack buggy. We hid in a canyon rocky shear and observed the entrance to Tri-Horn's lair. "It looks like there are six people guarding the entrance. And that there might be more waiting just inside. I don't think we're getting in that way." I said, "Any ideas anyone?" Dom looked through the binoculars, "Access shaft. Above the entrance-way. Think it might be a vent." Leo smiled, "We're sneaking in. Like Spies!" Larkin looked sick, "How can the three of you keep such straight faces in this situation?!" Dom snorted, "Not cowards." I was growing impatient, "Guys, there will be time to bicker and joke later. How are we getting in right now?" Dom shrugged, "Fight." Larkin began breathing heavy, "Fight?" I responded, "Fight." As the three of us stood up to go fight our way in, Leo spoke up, "Wait! I have a better idea." Larkin and I looked curious, Dom seemed to understand. Leo got a devious smile on his face, "Titan Bait."

We readied the giant tube labeled Titan Bait in Dom's catapult, attached to his Attack Buggy. Larkin and I removed the Arrow Battery and the case of Oil Bombs as Leo and Dom loaded their missile into the catapult. Dom turned the missile head and it slowly filled with a dark red liquid. "Guys…" I began, "What is that?" Dom looked up, "Spare Blood." Larkin looked extremely creeped out, "What?!" Leo chimed in, "When Beth does surgery, we're the ones who clean up the blood for her. So we decided to turn it into a weapon to fight Titans." I re-gathered myself, "And it'll work?" Leo smiled, "Definitely Petra!" I smile, "Good work being so creative. How does it work?" Dom interjects, "Titan's are attracted to the smell of blood. We coat those thugs in it, the Titans will come. But screaming always helps." With that thought Dom takes all of the Oil Bombs and attaches them to the missile. He lights all of the wicks and begins a countdown. "FIVE. FOUR. THREE. TWO…" Dom turns and smiles at Leo. Leo yells, "ONE!" and then Dom fires the missile. It flies through the air, lands, and explodes in a gush of fire and blood, turning the entrance into a bloody inferno. People at the entrance begin to scream and, soon enough, the Titans flow in, causing a giant turmoil amongst the various goons. In the confusion, we sneak in through the access shaft. We reach a series of catwalks and Dom stops, "Split up." I look at him, "Are you crazy!" I whisper yell. Dom keeps a straight face, "We look for Beth, while you look for Oluo. Then we all leave together." He smiles. I hold out my pinky, "Promise me you'll be safe." He grasps my little finger with his, "Promise." With that, Dom and Leo left to go find their sister. I, meanwhile, get stuck with Larkin.

Larkin and I sneak through the base. Eventually, he notices that I have the Arrow Battery strapped to my back. Larkin snivels, "Why do you have that?" I look at him, "We might need it." Larkin sighs, "Children building death machines. Disturbing." I scoff, "More than you do. I mean seriously, Tri-Horn's men are easy, why are you so scared of this guy?" Larkin mumbles incoherently to himself. I listen carefully and, to my surprise, I hear cheering in the distance. "This is such a freaking gloomy place. What are those people cheering about?" Larkin and I walk through the catwalks until we find the source of the cheering. Once we reach the cheering we find quite possibly the most disturbing thing I've ever seen: Humans, using ODM to slaughter each other. They weren't defending themselves, it wasn't like when Gog and Magog attacked Beth and I, they were killing and, by the looks on their faces, they loved it. I saw one man, wearing a mask; he zipped around like a soldier. He lined up his shot and, in one fell swoop, he killed his opposition. Then I noticed the only ones left standing were all wearing the same color. I looked at Larkin, "It's a Team Death Match." Larkin looked away, uncaring. As the Team (they were all wearing dark green) re-grouped in the center of the ring, three horns sounded from a platform over-hanging the arena and what appeared to be a giant walked out. The man on the platform was tall, at least 8 feet, he was covered in makeshift armor, and he had a mask. The mask was intricate; it had and ornately sculpted mouth and three horns one top that, upon closer inspection, appeared to be giant bloody railroad spikes. I heard the crowd chanting behind me, over the horn music, "TRI-HORN! TRI-HORN! TRI-HORN!" I suddenly felt a little trepidation; Tri-Horn was almost the size of a Titan. Having fought an intelligent Titan before, I wasn't relishing facing him. Larkin tapped my shoulder. I turned to him, "Yes?" He looked at me, with fire in his eyes, "That son of a bitch has taken so many of my peoples' lives, would you help me kill him?" I look at him, uneasy. Larkin pleads with me, "He's murdered children before; you must help. This could be the WMRG's only chance." I look at him and, after some thought, I smile, "Yeah! Let's do it Larkin. When that monster sits down again we'll ambush and kill him!" Larkin hugs me, "Thank you my dear." Tri-Horn addresses the crowd, and the gladiator's 30 meters below in the ring, "Well, what a surprise. The so-called 'Wings of Freedom' team wins again. That was sarcasm by the way." I freeze at the name, "Wings of Freedom" I start hating those savages all the more, tarnishing the Survey Corps brand by participating in blood sport. Tri-Horn laughs, "Congrats gentlemen. You've won again. Now, you get to move on to the main event of this season of ODM Death Match! Stay tuned everyone, this season finale is gonna be a doozy! And you true fans all know why!" The crowd starts chanting a bone-chilling anthem, "We want Warmonger! We want Warmonger! We want Warmonger!" I did not want to find out who Warmonger was, I needed to hurry up and find Oluo. "Larkin, let's get this over with. When he's done speaking, we need to kill him so we can find Oluo." Larkin nodded at me. Tri-Horn continued, "Coming in one hour…THE MAIN EVENT! But for now, please enjoy this show starring, two of my most outspoken critics, Johann Dorst and Kyle Everett! Give 'em a hand folks!" I watched as two blindfolded, leashed Titan's were led into the arena. I didn't see the two people Tri-Horn mentioned, but then I looked at the Titan's napes. Two people, presumably Tri-Horn's critics, were tied up and strapped to the Titan's napes. Tri-Horn screamed, "Let the fun BEGIN!" Then the Titans leashes and blindfold were removed and they immediately went for each other's napes. I nearly vomited, ODM Death Battles were immoral, but this was monstrous. Tri-Horn had a good laugh and returned to his viewing throne. Larkin signaled me, this was our chance. We made our way around the catwalks to the walkway immediately behind Tri-Horn. Larkin whispered to me, "You get the drop on him. I'll back you up." He gave me thumbs up. I smiled and gave him thumbs up back. I attempted to unload the arrow battery on Tri-Horn. I pulled the firing mechanism over and over, but nothing. I gave up on it and decided the straightforward approach would be better. I inched my way forward, drawing my sword, aiming at his back right where his heart would be. I reared back to strike, but then I felt a sharp pain on the back of my head, and everything went black.

I wake up to Tri-Horns voice, "Remember ladies and gentlemen, place your bets, anyone who guesses precisely the amount of time it takes Warmonger to kill all of 'Wings of Freedom' not only wins the whole betting pot, but a special BONUS PRIZE!" I tried to get a hold of myself, my head hurt really bad. I tried to open my mouth, but something was holding it shut. I knew for a fact my eyes were open, but nothing but darkness. I tried to reach my face, but my hands were tightly bound behind me. I thought to myself, "I'm tied up again. Dammit!" I struggled to get free, grunting and screaming behind my gag. I couldn't get loose. I was about to give up, and wait for whatever had captured me to reveal itself, when the bag over my head came off, and I came face to mask with the Masked Gladiator. Without a word, he picked me up and carried me, baby-style, off to a secluded section of the prison we were in. I was prepared for the worst. I closed my eyes, expecting something perverse, and then he spoke, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE PETRA?!" I opened my eyes and looked up, and he Masked Gladiator removed his mask revealing the person that I had come here to save, the Masked Gladiator was Oluo. "HMHMHM!" I tried to say. He sighed, reached down, and quickly tore the tape from my mouth. "OUCH! Dammit! What's the matter with you?!" Oluo looked pissed, "What's the matter with you?! I told you to go home. What are you doing here?!" I shakily stood up, hard to do with my hands tied, "I came to SAVE YOU! Gah, Dumbass!" Oluo's face softened, "You stood up." He tears up a little, "Your legs work again! How?!" I look at him and my bottom lips begins to tremble, "I…I couldn't just leave you…I got them fixed so that…" The tears start flowing by themselves, "…so that I could save you. I love you Oluo, you're my best friend…I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I left you." Oluo didn't make a sound, he reached behind me and untied my hands, and then he hugged me. I felt a stream of tears run down my shoulder. I returned the hug and started crying myself. We stood there for what seemed like forever just embracing and crying. I back up and run my fingers across his forehead, "That healed nicely." Oluo smiled, "Yeah, one of my teammates is a medic." Oluo proceeded to explain how, after he was taken away, he was forced into the gladiator pits to fight for his life. He introduced me to his team and explained that he named their team. I was told that I was knocked out and tied up, and then brought down to the gladiator holding cell. The guards told them that I was their "new teammate". Oluo's team welcomed me with open arms. We heard Tri-Horn booming above us, "Ten minutes until SHOWTIME! PLACE YOUR BETS!" The guard came down and gave us all our ODM Gear, "Suit up animals! You have your funerals to attend!" he laughed. I attached my ODM Gear and turned to Oluo, "Oluo…" He stopped me as he put on his mask, "Don't say it. We kill this Warmonger, we kill Tri-Horn, and we go home." He patted my shoulder, "Together. That's a promise!"

The guard came, with an entire militia and escorted us to the ring. The door slammed shut and was locked. Tri-Horn walked onto the platform with Larkin at his side. Larkin looked down on me. "Hello, you disobedient little brat. You can have this back." Larkin snarked as he dropped the arrow batteries firing pin. Tri-Horn announced, "Now Larkin has come to announce something to us all! Please Larkin, take the stage!" Larkin bowed to Tri-Horn, "Attention all, I would like to announce to all present that The Wall Maria Resilience Group belongs to Tri-Horn. Long may he live!" I was honestly shocked, "Larkin!" I yelled, "How could you just sell out your people like that, I thought you cared about them!" Larkin snorted, "Bah, those pathetic people were nothing but I crutch." He laughed, "A guy's got to eat right?" I looked at Larkin, my eyes full of hate, "I hope you burn in hell Larkin." Larkin laughed, "I probably will, but seeing as you're about to die, save me a seat by the fire!" Tri-Horn stood from his throne, "No." Larkin turned around, "Master Tri-Horn?" Tri-Horn looked at Larkin, "She's right Larkin." Tri-Horn pulled a cord above his head and the vent directly above Larkin spewed fire, engulfing Larkin in the process, "Burn in hell." When the fire ceased, all that was left of Larkin was a charred skeleton that fell limply into the arena at my feet. Tri-Horn laughed, "Goddamn! You have no idea how much I hated that worm." Tri-Horn looked to the crowd, "Now begins the Main Event!" Tri-Horn got the crowd roaring, "The prize for a winning bet this evening is two very special things. First, we have this…" Tri-Horn pointed to a huge pile of food and weapons of various types, "Who's HUNGRY?!" The crowd cheered out in frenzy. Tri-Horn motioned for them to quiet down, "And now for the second and, arguably, better prize! For the man or woman in the crowd who guessed the exact time that 'Wings of Freedom' are all dead, you get THIS!" The curtain covering the cage next to the pile of food and weapons was lifted and inside was a horrid sight: Beth. She was tied up, tightly, her hands were slightly blue, she had the same type of gag they used on Eren jammed in her mouth, her face was bruised and streaked with blood and tear marks, and she had a giant boot shaped bruise on her now exposed stomach. She was semi-conscious, but I could barely tell she was alive. Tri-Horn laughed, "The Grand Prize: YOUR VERY OWN PERSONAL WHORE!" Tri-Horn looked down at me, "Well, I appear to have struck a nerve folks!" I was shaking with anger, my eyes were bulging, my bottom lip was clenched under my teeth, and I was squeezing my fists hard enough to make my fingernails bleed. Oluo turned to me, "Petra?" I turned to Oluo, making him jump, he looked at my face. Oluo tensed up but then relaxed, "Right. Kill Tri-Horn and save that girl." Tri-Horn laughed, "Kill me?! I'm positive you'll be too busy fighting for your lives!" He worked the crowd, "ARE YOU PEOPLE READY?!" The crowd cheered out like wild beasts. "Perhaps you didn't hear me: ARE YOU READY?!" The crowd cheered even louder. Tri-Horn laughed, "Well then: RELEASE THE BEAST!" The door on the opposite side of the arena opened and out lumbered a blindfolded and leashed 23 meter Titan. "Wings of Freedom meet Warmonger!" Tri-Horn let out one more laugh, this one deeper and darker than any before, "NOW BEGINS THE MAIN EVENT OF THE SUMMER SEASON ODM DEATH MATCH! WINGS OF FREEDOM VERSUS WARMONGER! FIGHT!" The blindfold was removed from Warmonger, and it proceeded to lunge at us.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	18. Chapter 13: Assault on Tri-Horn Pt2

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral

Chapter 13: Assault on Tri-Horn (Part 2)

Warmonger lunged forth, its giant horrid mouth wide open. I got a brief look inside its horrible maw, it was a literal boneyard. I hooked a hanging awning and got a good look at the 23-meter as it stood up. Its skin was marred with a variety of weapons: spears, shrapnel, broken ODM blades, and all other manor of weaponry. Its teeth were oversized, making the top ones emerge from the mouth like some sort of demonic rat. Its shaggy hair covered its eyes, but I could still see a faint glow hidden beneath. Its body was muscular, except for its stomach, which was jutting out from its torso. Its arms were oversized, like a second set of legs with giant hands on the end. It reared its head back and roared a chilling deep sound that made the Female Titan look like a puppy. It lifted its arm and swung it, clipping two of Oluo's teammates and knocking them up in the air. It snatched them, like a dog to a steak, and began to crunch them in its mouth. I could hear their bloody, terrified screams over the sound of bones snapping. Oluo was shaking in rage, "Danny! Gordon! NO!" The monster swung its arms again and sent the rest of "Wings of Freedom" sailing. Then it turned its attention to me, it swung its arm up at me, but I was hanging just out of reach. Its blows shook the wall. I was trying to think of a strategy when a bullet whizzed by my head. I looked up to see Dino, "Off the wall bitch!" He smiled, cocking the rifle, "Get down there and die, there's still time to make my 2 minutes 45 seconds guess!" I jumped down, narrowly avoiding Warmonger's teeth. I stuck my hooks in the back of its head and hung on for dear life. I looked up and observed the entire viewing section around the ring, there were guards on all available exit points, armed with rifles. If we were going to escape this monster, those guards had to go. Tri-Horn began to yell to the crowd, "IT"S BEEN THIRTY SECONDS FOLKS! I'm WILLING TO BET SOME OF YOU JUST LOST BIG!" A few people in the crowd began to boo and jeer and throw things at me. A piece of rock hit my forehead, causing my eyebrow to begin bleeding. I winced back from the pain and looked up a Beth. She was staring at me, her eyes glazed over. She was shaking; I couldn't hear but I was sure she was crying. I was about to make a break for it, go help her no matter what the cost to myself, but then I noticed two familiar-looking, short shadows creeping up behind Beth's cage.

I saw Dom and Leo sneak up to Beth's cage. Dom stuck his hand inside and wiped the tears from Beth's cheek. Leo squeezed through the bars and hugged her. Dom looked down and saw me on Warmonger's head. His made several oblique hand signals at me, that I barely understood. Dom sighed in frustration, but then he produced the arrow battery. He pointed to the slot for the firing pin and motioned at me. I suddenly realized what he was planning; I needed to get that firing pin. I dove from Warmonger's head, stopping midway to slash out the monsters eyes. I hit the ground and, in stride, I begin to scour the ground for the pin. Oluo and the rest of "Wings of Freedom" emerged from there hiding places. The team rushed Warmonger while Oluo ran up to me. "What are you doing?!" he yelled. I turned to him and grabbed his shoulders, "Oluo, I need help! That small silver thing that Larkin dropped, FIND IT!" Oluo was perplexed, "Is this REALLY the time for trinkets?!" I turned to him with an angry, almost Levi, look, "Just do it DUMBASS!" Oluo immediately complied and began to search as well. Tri-Horn laughed, "AND WE"VE REACHED THE ONE MINUTE MARK! YOU POOR SAPS SHOULD REALLY HAVE MORE FAITH IN THE GLADIATORS!" The booing got louder. Tri-Horn spoke again, "AWW SHUT UP! AT LEAST IT"S GOOD ENTERTAINMENT!" His laugh was getting _really_ annoying. I was getting frustrated, about to lose my cool, when Oluo yelled, "Petra!" I turned to see him waving the pin in the air. I ran over to him and hugged him, "Good job!" I took the pin from him, just in time for another gladiator's body to collide into us. There were only three members left of the other ten we came in with. One of them went after Warmonger's eyes again. The other two came and picked us up. "You two okay?!" the bigger one asked. Oluo rubbed his head, "We're fine Tony." He looked at me, "What is this thing?!" I smiled at him, "It's our freedom Oluo." I pull the ODM from the corpse that landed next to us; I stripped out the cable from the firing mechanism. After doing that, I loaded the firing pin into it and took aim at Dom. They had gotten Beth out of the cage, she was standing, if shakily. She looked at me and smiled, I smiled back and fired. The firing pin zipped up past the guards, unnoticed and hit the wall behind Dom; he picked it up and inserted it into the arrow battery. The gladiator who went after Warmonger's eyes was sent flying back to us, in pieces. Warmonger lumbered towards us, steam erupting from its face. We all flew around it and latched onto the small of its back. I looked up to see Dom sending me more hand signals. I couldn't understand them. I shrugged at him and he buried his upper face in his hands. Oluo saw me distracted, "Petra?! What're you doing?!" I couldn't take me eyes off of Beth and her brothers. Beth stared back at me, but then an idea shot across her face. She reached into the food pile and pulled out a dead duck, and then she began draping it with a piece of torn fabric on her dress. I was still confused, "Dead Duck. Drape? Duck. Hide? Duck. Cover? Duck. Cover." I realized what they were saying and turned to Oluo and the rest of "Wings of Freedom", I screamed, "DUCK AND COVER!" They all looked confused, but they dived down with me under a pile of rubble. Warmonger turned around to face us and Dom unfolded the arrow battery and inserted the firing pin. Then, with a pull of a string, it began to rain arrows.

Oluo, his two teammates, and I crawl out from under the rubble. We were treated to a grisly sight. All of the guards on the right side of the arena had fallen in, pierced in multiple places by arrows. Most of them were dead. The guards on the other side were all injured and groaning in pain. Warmonger looked like a giant porcupine; arrows covered its chest, arms, and filled its eyes. The crowd had abandoned the arena, terrified of further arrow rain. It made it where I could hear everything Tri-Horn was screaming perfectly, "GODDAMMIT! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?! He came lurching forward onto his platform, holding a giant pick-axe. He was a sight to see; his entire left side was a pincushion, arrows had pierced everything: his arm, his leg, his side, his ass, and worst of all his _head_. I peered up, looking for Beth and her brothers, but they were gone. "Good…" I thought in relief, "They escaped." Tri-Horn looked down on me, "You bitch…I don't know how you did that…BUT I AM GOING TO RIP OUT YOUR GODDAMNED INTESTINES AND HANG YOU WITH THEM!" Warmonger was beginning to stir. I walked up to Oluo, "Oluo, can you and your team handle him?" Oluo turned to me, "Tri-Horn? Yeah, we can take him. But what are you gonna do?" I turned to Warmonger, "I'm going to make sure that monster can never hurt anyone, ever again." Oluo sighed, "No talking you out of it?" I steeled myself, "No talking me out of it." Oluo drew two new blades, "Fine, but don't die. Levi will kill me if I let his wife die." I bow my head, "Shut up dumbass." Oluo nodded and then, he and his last two teammates scaled the wall to go face Tri-Horn. Then, with one pull of my trigger, I fly towards the blinded monster, full of killing intent.

Warmonger was not nearly as much of a threat while blind, other than hearing and smell it had no idea where I was. If I moved fast enough, it couldn't respond. It was swinging its arms wildly, almost completely at nothing. I went down and gathered four sets of ODM and got to work. I got as far away from it as I could, then attached all four sets of Gear to the wall with their swords, and then I fired all eight of the ODM hooks into Warmongers face. I activated the automatic reel-in mechanism and got out of the way as quickly as I could. The process was slow at first, the pull didn't seem like it would be enough, but soon Warmonger began staggering, it was forced to follow the ODM cable and, soon enough, its face was rammed right into the wall, embedding its head in the solid rock structure.

Meanwhile, up on the platform, Oluo was fighting with Tri-Horn. Tri-Horn killed his last two friends and he was by himself. Tri-Horn was overpowering him; it was amazing how someone with a body full of arrows could put up such a fight. He swung at Oluo again and again, each time a near miss on Oluo's life. He charged Tri-Horn and ran a blade into the left side of his chest. Tri-Horn almost fell, but then punched Oluo hard in the face. The force of the punch snapped the cable on Oluo's sword, leaving him with only one. Back down in the pit, I lined up my shot, steadied myself, and zipped straight at Warmonger's nape. I sunk in my blades and sliced it out, expecting the monster to fall and steam, but it just stood there. "Damn it!" I yelled, "I didn't cut deep enough." I hadn't counted on Warmonger being so big; his weak spot must have been more deeply recessed. I caught my composure, re-assessed myself, and decided to give it one more go. I back up, lined up my shot, and as I was about to deliver the final strike. I felt a hot, piercing pain in my right shoulder. I put my hand on it and it came back bloody. I turned around to see Dino, standing on the edge of the ring, holding his rifle. He looked furious. "I should've killed you at that hospital!" he growled. My shoulder was becoming stiff; I don't think I could've reacted fast enough to dodge a bullet. Dino aimed his rifle directly at my face, "Now die!" Just as Dino was about to pull the trigger, a sword exploded from his chest. He slumped forward and fell into the pit. I looked over and saw Beth, kneeling there, holding her stomach, "Not to the woman I love you won't." I zipped over to her, "Beth…" I started whimpering, "I'm so…I'm…so…" Beth kissed me on the mouth; I leaned into it and kissed her back. She separated, "I knew you'd save me." Tears ran down her face, "I love you…" I grabbed her hand, "I love you too…" Beth wiped her cheeks, "Petra?" I looked into her eyes, "Yes?" She smiled, "I heard Oluo. So can I be the godmother to yours and Levi's kids?" I punched her in the arm, "Not you too!" She whimpered and clutched her side. "Are you okay?" I ask worriedly. She nods, "A couple ribs are broken, but I can fix it later." I held her close, but then I heard Tri-Horn scream behind me. I turned to see Oluo and his two new teammates, Dom and Leo, ganging up on Tri-Horn. Oluo and Dom were taking vicious slashes at Tri-Horns torso and face. Leo was holding onto his left leg and punching his knee. Beth grabbed my shoulder, "Don't worry about them…" she pointed towards Warmonger, "End this." I nodded, stood up, and looked over at Warmonger, its head was still stuck, but its nape was healed. I only had one set of blades left; I knew what I had to do. I flipped my left-hand blade upside down, got a running start and, with a cartwheel, a launched myself, spinning like a buzz saw, at Warmonger's nape. My swords dug into the flesh, burrowing deeper and deeper until Warmonger fell limp. It keeled over, steaming, into a dead mound on the floor. I stood up and walked out of its neck wound. I don't know why (possibly just to look cool), but I reached down, grabbed a loose piece of cloth, and began to wipe my hands and sword hilts free of the evaporating blood.

Up on the platform, Oluo and Dom had managed to overwhelm Tri-Horn; he stood on the edge of his gruesome stage and looked down at the fallen form of his monster. "Damn it! WARMONGER!" Oluo approached him, Dom and Leo stood back. Oluo got in his face, "We're gonna make you pay for what you've done. You'll suffer for the rest of your life." Tri-Horn laughed, a hollow sad laugh, "You think I'm going back to prison?" He coughed blood, "When the Military Police abandoned us criminals out here in Wall Maria, I was thrilled. Freedom…to do what I wanted for the rest of my life…" Tri-Horn broke into a coughing fit, "I…I…I'm NOT GOING BACK!" Tri-Horn shot an ODM cable from his wrist, wrapping it around the pull-chain next to his throne. "Oh crap, OLUO!" I yelled. I shot and ODM hook into his leg and pulled him away just in time, as a column of fire shot down and engulfed Tri-Horn. Dom and Leo landed next to us, as Tri-Horn stood there, burning and laughing. Beth wrapped her arms around all of us and began to cry, "It's good to have the family back together…" Dom, Leo, and I hugged her back. Oluo sat there, "Family is nice and all…But who are you people?"

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._


	19. Chapter 14: Epilogue

_Legal Statement: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the Characters mentioned in the following story. Everything in the story is property of the manga-ka, Hajime Isayama. This is purely a non-profit fan based parody. Please, support the official release!_

The Trials of Petra Ral

Finale Chapter 14: To You: In the Uncertain Future

We all went back to the Wall Maria Resilience Groups base together. The first thing Beth did was call a town meeting in the market. We left it up to her to explain what happened to Larkin:

"People of the WMRG, it is with a heavy heart that I announce that our beloved leader, Adrian Larkin, has died in the final battle against Tri-Horn and his vicious forces. City-Commander Larkin fought with bravery and love, and all of our interests at heart. His final words were a beautiful soliloquy about how much our hard work brought joy to his heart. And I quote, 'In my long life as a Scout…"

Dom looked disgusted, "Why is she lying for that guy?"

Oluo patted Dom on the shoulder and pointed at the people, "It's for them kid, look at 'em."

People were genuinely crying over Larkin's death.

I looked down, I couldn't take knowing that they would never know the truth.

Beth was still talking, "…but in conclusion, I love you all.' End quote. But Larkin is gone now, now we need a new leader, does anyone volunteer?"

The townspeople murmured, and they were clearly terrified. Larkin, their hero, was dead. Without him, they could survive, but their moral would die. I thought to myself, "What would _they_ do?" I pictured Eren, Erwin, Hanji, Levi, and my Dad.

Beth was trying to calm them, "We just need to stay calm everyone. Everything will be fine." Even she didn't believe herself anymore.

I got up on stage next to her. I yelled over the crowd, "EXCUSE ME!"

Everyone was silent, "My name is Petra Ral. I just got here recently. I was…broken. But…but the kindness of Dr. Dugan and the rest of you people healed me. Now I'm **definitely **not Larkin, but I am a Scout. And, if you'll have me, I would like to take the position of City-Commander. I want to make sure all of you people…" I look at Beth, "…some of which I owe my very life to be safe."

I stood there in awkward silence (it reminded me of graduation all over again) but, soon enough, one person began to clap. And then another. Soon enough, people were laughing and whooping and cheering my name. I looked back and saw Oluo's face, he was in shock.

We met at my new office. Oluo, Dom, and Leo were all standing there. Beth was treating all of our wounds. Her breathing was heavy and somewhat forced. "Take it easy." I say, "You can finish my shoulder later." Beth sat and looked at me, "Petra…" Oluo interjected, "What about home?!" He looked at Beth and her brothers, "No offense to you guys, but Petra…we have careers, families, and friends. What about them?" I look at him, slightly wistful, "Oluo…I would never ask you to stay here…but if you go home, don't tell them I'm alive. Okay?" He was flabbergasted, "What?" I looked at him, "We're dead at home Oluo. And these people…they need us. They'll die without someone here to help them along." Oluo deflated, "I'm staying but…" Oluo raised his finger to my lips, "Stop." He looked up and smiled, "I could never leave you by yourself. Special Operations Squad for life." He raised his fist and I bumped it. I looked at Dom and Leo and smiled, "That okay with you guys?" They both smiled and hugged me. That night, we all slept at Beth's house. The boys in their room, Oluo in the living room, and Beth and I in our bed. We took a break from passionately kissing one another to tell each other how much we loved one another. I began to remove Beth's nightdress, she grabbed it, "What about Levi?" I looked at her and smiled, "I'll always love Levi. But if I spend the rest of my life worried about what could have been, I'll never find true joy." I pecked her nose, "I do love you. You complete me Beth." I gave her another peck, on the upper lip. She kissed me back as we began to strip one another. An hour later, Beth was asleep. I laid there awake and stared at the ceiling for a while, eventually I drifted off.

I had another dream that night: Levi and I walked the edge of Wall Rose, holding hands. I looked at him. He looked back. Levi spoke first, "So, you can't come back?" I begin to weep, "I'm so sorry. But…but you once said that we all need to follow what we feel is right. This is what I feel is right…" I collapse to my knees and start bawling. Levi grabs my chin and brings my eyes to his, "Damn it! Quit crying." He knelt down and hugged me. He whispered softly into my ear, "I'm so damn proud of you. Doing what's best for humanity, the Scouts ultimate duty." He backed up and, for the first time ever, genuinely smiled at me, "I'll always love you. Never doubt that. But don't feel guilty, we'll get along just fine, we always do. And if you ever feel the need to come home, we'll always welcome you. Because…" Levi leaned forward and hugged me kissed my lips as two familiar sets of hands gripped me from behind. I turned around to see my mom and dad. Mom, Dad, and Levi then all spoke in unison, "…we love you." My dream lasted until I woke up, but from that point on, my parents and Levi just held me as I cried my eyes out.

It's been a full month since that dream. I'm adjusting to my new position well. Beth and I are officially dating now (her staring at me make the Well-Being meetings really difficult), Dom and Leo have taken over Larkin's scavenging force, and Oluo has started recruiting people for our Survey Corp, so that we can keep fighting the Titans in the name of humanity. I'm happy, and the people here are really nice, but I still feel melancholy when I think of you guys. I still sometimes long for a meal with my parents, or to train with Levi and Eren again. Sometimes I even miss listening to Hanji talk. But, this is my life now. I'm gonna help these people, and we're going to survive until humanity is free of its cannibalistic tormentors. Then, hopefully, I can see them all again. Coming to you, in an uncertain future, this is (or possibly was) Petra Ral of Karanese, current City-Commander of the Wall Maria Resistance Group.

_Authors Note: I would appreciate any feedback that you have so, please, review this. I would love both your praise and your criticism. And please, share with me if you think I made any mistakes._

_Also, I would once again like to thank my friend, RANDOM-drawer357 on deviantart, for use of her wonderful artwork. Please, if you have the time, go look at her page. _


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